The Tease

Matthew had lived at Chris's Home for a long time, so he had set up a Protection Spell there that would trigger if anyone broke in and alert him immediately.

He slipped Old White's diary into his pocket. He had just skimmed through it and noticed a few clues, but this wasn't the time to investigate further. He decided to return to his residence first.

Matthew took a wand from his pocket. It was a Portkey he had made. When he activated it, space twisted, and his figure vanished from the bedroom.

A figure holding a wand suddenly appeared in the room next to Chris's Study. Matthew had returned via Portkey, which he had set to the Residence Room.

As soon as he got back, Matthew sensed an Energy Fluctuation on the ground floor. He held out his left hand, and an invisible wave radiated from his palm, sweeping across the floor below.

Matthew furrowed his brow. He sensed an Energy Fluctuation on the ground floor that differed from the magic of ordinary wizards. It seemed familiar.

He had no time to think it over. A commotion came from downstairs. Chris must have run into the intruder.

When Matthew reached the ground floor, he saw a monster that could trigger the human uncanny valley effect. It stood about twice the height of a man, its naked body covered in bulging human faces. Their expressions varied, but most were twisted with rage or fear.

Faint murmurs came from the faces covering the monster. If you listened closely, you could hear them saying, "It hurts so much—my face—it hurts so much—"

Chris was sprawled in a corner. His left arm had been severed partway down, and from the wound, it looked as if it had been torn off by brute force.

When he noticed Matthew, he panted, "Lord Matthew! This monster is incredibly strong, and its skin is tough. My sword can't cut it. Please be careful!"

A flicker of alarm crossed Matthew's eyes. Among the faces on the monster, he spotted Sir Rayne and his wife, Trina!

Why does this monster have Sir Rayne and Trina's faces? Did something happen to them after I left? Matthew was unsettled. He had seen them at Sir Rayne's home not long ago.

Matthew spotted another familiar face on the monster: the Night Watchman he had met when he first arrived in Whitestone Town.

"Drink this Hemostatic Agent." He tossed a vial toward Chris.

Was this monster behind the Missing Persons Case in Whitestone Town? Matthew drew his wand, and a Blue Light shot from its tip.

The spell struck the monster, forcing it back only half a step. It looked up at Matthew, its eyes glowing with bloodthirsty red light. Its mouth stretched back to its ears, revealing black, sharp teeth, and its distorted features produced a chilling voice.

"High Magic Resistance!" Matthew's gaze sharpened. This monster's Magic Resistance was almost on par with a Basilisk's, so he grew even more cautious.

The faces on the monster turned toward Matthew in unison. When Sir Rayne and Trina saw him, they cried out urgently, "Your Excellency Investigator—save me!"

Trina's once-lovely face had lost all its gentleness. Twisted veins covered the edges of her face as she cried out in pain:

"Your Excellency Investigator—help me—save me—I don't want to die—!"

The faces on the monster were still conscious!

Matthew flicked his wand, sending several transparent, curved Wind Blades toward the monster.

After casting the spell, Matthew turned and ran outside. He wanted to lure the monster out. Fighting indoors risked hitting Chris and Tina, and would damage the house.

The transparent, curved Wind Blades left only a few shallow wounds on the monster. But when they struck the faces on its body, their expressions twisted with even greater pain. Bright red blood poured from the wounds, and a weak, hoarse voice cried, "It hurts so much—it hurts so much—"

Then the wounded faces' eyes gradually began to glow red. They said with bitter hatred, "Kill him—kill him—"

The monster followed Matthew outside and quickly lunged at him.

The monster was incredibly fast. Matthew had only just raised his Iron Armor Charm when a tremendous force struck him. The monster sent him flying along with the shield created by the spell!

But the Iron Armor Charm didn't break. After Matthew had used his Meditation Method to advance to Level 2 Wizard Apprentice, he had experienced a small Magic Outburst, which had also increased the power of his spells.

Matthew quickly cast the Levitation Charm on his cloak and shoes, using the monster's force to fly high into the air. He landed on the roof of a nearby Tower.

Seeing that the monster couldn't reach him for the moment, he took a white, round-edged Badge from his pocket. A wizard's hat was engraved in its center. It was the identity Badge of a Court Wizard Investigator; its white background signified that he was a Temporary Investigator.

The Badge was an Alchemy Item. It allowed its bearer to use Remote Communication Magic to contact other members of the Court Wizards. Each Badge had a specific, unique Magic Frequency. Once two bearers exchanged frequencies, they could communicate remotely. Matthew's Badge currently held only Link and Anna's Magic Frequencies.

Matthew activated his Badge and requested a remote connection with Link.

A few moments later, the Badge glimmered, and the connection went through.

"What's up?" Link asked bluntly. He couldn't imagine Matthew calling him in the middle of the night just to chat.

Matthew spoke quickly. "We're under attack. The enemy is strong. Get to 56 Riverside Street, quick!"

"Hold on. We'll be right there."

After they spoke, neither side ended the call, so they could keep each other updated on the situation.

Matthew heard a loud thud. He had no time to think and instinctively leapt forward.

"Bang!" A boulder smashed into the spot where he had just been standing, sending clouds of dust into the air.

When the dust cleared, one corner of the Tower's roof had collapsed.

Matthew landed on the roof of a nearby house, but didn't stop. He immediately jumped to the roof of another building. Another boulder smashed into the spot where he had just been standing.

The monster covered in human faces kept hurling stones at Matthew from the middle of Riverside Street. It was getting them from a nearby house, whose wall it had smashed through.

Luckily, that wasn't Chris's Home.

"Bang—bang—bang—" The sound of boulders hitting rooftops rang out with startling force in the dead of night.

"Woo—" Before long, the Night Watchman in the distance blew his trumpet, sounding an alarm for the people of Whitestone Town.

"Not very smart." Matthew made his judgment. No creature of normal intelligence would make such a racket while attacking someone at night.

After throwing stones for a while, the monster stopped, apparently realizing that they weren't hurting Matthew.

It ran to the base of the building Matthew was standing on and grabbed the stone wall with both hands. Its fingers punched ten holes into the wall, and it began to climb.

Matthew watched the monster rapidly approach without changing expression. When it was almost at the roof, he swung his wand, and the wall it was clinging to turned into a pool of water.

With nothing left to hold on to, the monster plummeted toward the ground.