Chapter 106 (1/2)
Act 9
The huge mansion was lit up by luxurious lights. There was a large living room with a high ceiling where some men with crumpled faces were talking.
“What happened?”
“Sir, the dark magicians of the lower village have died. Well, except for Calvin. The whole village is covered in their blood.”
Upon hearing his subordinate’s report, Roman crumpled his face with anger.
“Which bastard killed them?”
“We are not sure about that.”
“What do you mean you are not sure?”
“There were signs that magic was used, but some of the bodies had stab wounds made from a sword. Therefore, I think there was more than one person responsible for their deaths.”
“Some sort of group then?”
“It didn’t look like a big group killed them. I think two or three people might be responsible.”
“Two or three…”
Roman took a sip of the strong liquor he had placed on the table. He felt a burning sensation in his throat and started to calm down a little.
“Did you say there were injuries made from a sword?”
“Yes.”
“Huh. A swordsman, not a wizard…”
Calvin and the dark magicians in the lower village were the least skilled of their kind. However, about 100 of them were living there. Unlike the old saying, “There is strength in numbers,” the number of magicians in the village didn’t matter. They all died anyway.
“Wait. Didn’t you say there was a new visitor in town a few days ago?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Is he possibly the one who wielded the sword? As you know, we don’t have any swordsman residing in our town.”
“But a swordsman can’t just enter the town either.”
“But all visitors are intended to be sacrificed. So, it doesn’t matter if he or she is a wizard or a swordsman, because they would be allowed entry either way.”
“Do you…think that’s true?”
Roman’s subordinate had some doubts and scratched his head. In all of their history, they never allowed a non-magician entrance into Moros. The magicians of Moros City took pride in this strict policy.
“Just find the perpetrators first. You can go and look for witnesses or track the magic that remains there.”
“What will you do when you find them?”
“After we find them, we must kill them. Even if the residents in the village were killed, nobody can touch us because we are the strongest dark magicians.”
Others had despised the dark magicians for a long time. Therefore, they had developed strong ties amongst one another. Compared to the general magicians, who usually valued individualism, they were just a little better because no one cared for each other like the dark magicians.
“More than anything, if people start to look down on us, we are done. For now, people are quiet because we have Ouroboros to intimidate them…” Roman clenched his teeth and jumped out of his seat. “We can’t go back to how it was like in the old days.”
Thump, thump—
Roman walked along the hallway of the mansion. The disaster in the small village gave him an ominous feeling. He could not sit still anymore.
***
Su-hyeun looked at the wall that was in the distance. It was the high wall surrounding the great town.
Malcolm came up to Su-hyeun and said, “If you want to run away, I will help you.”
Su-hyeun looked back at him. “Didn’t you say nobody can run away?”
“I did, because even if you go over the wall, you will be surrounded by the sea. This place is an island.”
“And Ouroboros is in the sea.”
“Yes.”
“Knowing that, will you still help me?”
Malcolm nodded heavily. “If that is what you want. Helping you will be my duty.”
Su-hyeun seemed to be aware that he would become a sacrifice. Therefore, Malcolm thought that Su-hyeun was looking at the wall because he was trying to escape.
“Sitting down and waiting for death is not my thing,” Su-hyeun said.
“Then—”
“I don’t need your help.” Su-hyeun stopped leaning against the wall and started to walk off. “I will be back.”
Malcolm did not stop him, but he watched him walk away with a sorry look. Su-hyeun walked out of Malcolm’s house and looked around at the magicians on the street.
‘I have 27 days left.’
It was the time he had left until he would become a sacrifice for Ouroboros.
‘I have enough time.’
It was not long ago that the dark magicians appeared in Moros. They had been hiding in the shadows of the city. However, after they gained control of Ouroboros, they gained control over the town as well.
In reality, the dark magicians weren’t very powerful. Nevertheless, other magicians had no choice but to leave them alone because of the existence of Ouroboros.
‘Here they are.’
Su-hyeun stared at dozens of dark magicians who wore black robes in the middle of the street. They were walking around and asking magicians questions as if they were looking for someone.
It seemed that they were questioning everyone because of the mess that Su-hyeun had made in the lower village of the dark magicians. He jammed on the hat that he took from Malcolm’s house and hid in the crowd. He began to follow the dark magicians while in disguise.
***
“Damn it!”
Roman, who was very annoyed, kicked a small stone on the street. The dark magicians gathered around Roman in a secluded area in the alley.
“How has no one seen anything?” Roman shouted.
“Should we search through Malcolm’s house?”
Roman turned his head and glared in his subordinate’s eyes.