A sullen atmosphere surrounded Khufu. He lifted his left hand in the air and looked at the fingers that held the needle in the past. For the needle had sunk below his fingers to the back of his hand. Furthermore, Deus Garcia had locked him up in this empty room.
After stepping down from the carriage Deus led him into a normal looking building. But who thought that it was an empty cell. It was like a prison cell camouflaged in the middle of the city.
An uneasy feeling gripped his hear. What was Deus Garcia going to do with Trace's master. Assuming that it was the Master's name written in the register. How could this be related to Swirls case incident?
Although, he did not spend much time with neither Trace and his master nor Deus Garcia, but if he had to compare. The fortune teller and his apprentice seemed way better than the evil Deus Garcia. If receiving the red liquid and tampering of evidence did not make him vary of Deus Garcia then what could!
Khufu's current state of being lost in thoughts was interrupted by the sound of constant pecking on window. He looked up and saw two small ventilating windows. A little red mohawk still on the window immediately lifted his spirit.
...
The sun had long set. Night crawled out to encompass the entire sky. Trace's eyes were filled by the darkness as he sat outside the almost empty room. After all, he could not give up on guarding the Swirls house.
It was my name written on it, doesn't that make me the terrorist. Trace thought about tempered entry on the register. Inside his clothes were two boxes bigger than the standard card cases.
Sound of footsteps entered his ear, but he did not turn to greet the girl that walked into the room. If Trace turned back, he would immediately notice tear stains all over the girl's face. But no words were spoken, both of them just sat there looking into the darkness.
Eimi Swirls was at the third sequence of Level 2 now. And the thing to note was that only from the second sequence of Level 2 the use of magic talisman was possible. Although she had no combat experience, she was skilled at the art of talisman making. Furthermore, despite looking like a frail girl at the moment, her body was three to four times stronger than Trace.
Trace was also a Level 2 Reaper, but the difference was huge. Most people would be stuck at first sequence of Level 1 if they could not make mana from their ring to flow inside their own body. Only after achieving this feat they would advance to the second sequence of Level 1.
Thus, he could neither clearly hear nor see the red mohawked bird flapping near the boundary. But due to some unknown reasons he could sense the bird as it was. This was the reason why Eimi never doubted Trace being a normal Sorcerer.
"Trace don't go", Eimi said as Trace got up.
"Stay here" she shouted when Trace opened the gate.
"With me… ", were the last words but in a low voice.
Trace stopped focusing behind him thus could only hear the first five words. Only after closing the gate and inspecting around, he looked towards the bird. A small piece of paper was dropped by the bird on Trace's hand. That message said that his master and Khufu were in trouble!
Without wasting anytime, Trace rushed towards his home in Coiling Cradle Street. The piece of paper was tightly gripped inside his hand. Right now, he could not wait, only hope to find an empty carriage along the way.
...
At Coiling Cradle Street, a figure climbed the stairs of the fortune teller shop. In broad daylight no person would be shameless enough to climb the stairs of this place, he thought. Just as he opened the door, the first thing that entered his eyes was a crystal ball.
Reading the words 'Greatest Magician of the Century' made him chuckle. Deus Garcia immediately headed towards this place after locking Khufu Azami in a secure location. As per for the information he received from Khufu- Trace's master did not have any rings on his fingers.
Sorcerers could not wear fake rings nor never remove the real ones. Deus Garcia calmly walked closer to the table. A man with hair covering the eyes. This person matched the appearance Khufu described.
"If you can answer my questions, I promise to be gentle", Deus Garcia said.
"Do you know any major incident that happened four or five years ago?", he added.
"I claim to be a Fortune Teller, unfortunately I cannot see the past".
"I have met your disciple. Do you know which case Destthine is working on?" Deus Garcia said in a tricky voice.
"I believe it is the case of… Incident at the Church of Scarlet Parry".
A loud bang went off in Deus Garcia head. He considered himself to be very knowledgeable. The amount of information he collected over the years was one of the sources of his pride. But this was the first time he heard the word church. And Scarlet Parry? Not even a slight idea either.
Was this incident the turning point? Was this the top-secret case? His curiosity did not let him rejoice. Instead, he was surrounded with more questions.
"What do you know about it?", Deus asked.
"Destthine asked about it to me and, that's it".
Deus Garcia could not accept this answer. He rushed forward to grab the fortune teller by neck. But his hand stopped a few feet in front of the fortune teller. No reaction?
"I do not wish to harm a non-Sorcerer, follow me. Evidence against you has turned up, you are under arrest".
Deus Garcia turned back and walked through the door. He was confident that his order would be listened. A non-Sorcerer stood no chance against a Level 2 Sorcerer. And so it was, the fortune teller stood from his seat.
Now that he knew what the top-secret incident's name was his mind was at ease. If he reported this back maybe the higher-ups would assign him related cases in the future. There was no need to rush, the Inspectors at the Police Department of Koyoko city could get the answers he wanted.
"Scarlet Parry", he mumbled.
Next important thing was the needle. What answers did the needle hold? If only it was not stuck inside that darn Level 1 Sorcerer, and had some information related to the church! Deus calmed himself, the thought of getting more information than Destthine made him smile.
...
A smile was also plastered on the face of woman wearing a hoodie. She lit a cigarette and put it between her pink lips. The person following her had not lost the trail no matter what tricks she used. There was a high possibility that a Level 3 Sorcerer was on hot pursuit.
Her fate was sealed, it was like the saying – 'You can't escape free when the number of Federation dog turns three'. She put her hand on her forehead to check the temperature. But since all her body was burning hot. the difference was not felt.
"I am impressed", Klavior revealed himself.
Just after they left the fortune teller's shop, Klavior suspected that he was found out. The best outcome he could hope for was the woman leading him to her comrades. Klavior was not worried about how many days it would take. But being exposed was the last thing he wanted.
"I wonder if your fortune was told correctly?"
Klavior poked about the matter. The fortune teller was involved with Trace and now this woman. He just couldn't dismiss it as a coincidence. Despite not being a Sorcerer there was an air of mysteriousness about that person.
"Are you a stalker?" the woman smiled.
Klavior was at loss of words. The best-case scenario was to get some info out of the woman. Anything would be fine. But judging the capabilities of woman made him reconsider his approach. He put up his hand so that the three rings on his fingers were visible to the woman.
"Capable woman such as yourself are always welcomed by the Federation", Klavior said.
It was easy to work for the Federation. A huge work force was required to manage the three countries with countless states. But gaining enough merits to exchange for a chance to become Level 3 was extremely difficult.
"If you tell me the method to reach Level 3 right now, I will consider your offer", was the woman's answer.
There was no difference in the tone of her voice. Klavior's face darkened. If the woman was weak, he would have just knocked her out. But even for him, capturing her in one piece would be difficult.
"Since your beauty is unmatched, I will make you this offer. Answer my one question with your hand on this scroll and I will let you walk away unharmed".
Klavior took out the scroll and showed it to the woman. This was his best offer. Method to reach Level 3… right now? It was the most tasteless joke he ever heard.
"You think I do not know about you? Destthine", the woman said.
Her voice did not change but it sounded wicked in Klavior's ears. Information about him, a person who worked in the Sovereign Jurisdiction Department was impossible to get. Even if it was possible, he thought that the last person whose info would get leaked would be his own.
"You have a spy in out Department", Klavior said in a grave voice.
"I feel like someone set me up too", the woman replied lighting another cigarette.
...
The smoke flew up in the lone alley. Under the dark sky not many carriages were present on the road in this part of the city. Trace got out of one and rushed up the stairs. No signs of his master could be found inside the house.
Panicking, he got out and looked around the roads. The voice of the coachman asking him to pay up for the transport only entered his head after the bird with red mohawk filled his entire vision. The bird seemed to be telling him something. The action of the bird made no sense to him.
"Sir, maybe tha bird is showing ya direction", the coachman said.
The coachman got a rough idea of what might be going on. Late at night it was difficult to get passengers. So going further would help him greatly. He patted his horse waiting for the young man to decide.
Trace immediately got down the stairs. A little hope was a million times better than none. He took out all the coins from his pocket and handed them over to the coachman.
The coachman was taken aback by the number of coins. There was no way he was going to refuse such generous payment. But the sound of the bird awoke him from his little dream. Without delay he ordered the horse to run and climbed it.
"Follow the bird!"