CHAPTER 78: YET ANOTHER

Earlier that night, a black sedan stopped in front of a villa. The lookout who had stayed behind entered and met his master, Joey Dobbin.

“Why are you alone? Where are the others?”

“They went in and never came back. I was worried that something had gone wrong, so I came to report to you first.”

“You aren’t followed, are you?”

“I’m not. I circled several blocks to make sure there wasn’t anyone or any owl following me.”

“Good. Leave the city and hide for a few days. Don’t contact me without my orders.”

The black sedan departed, heading directly out of Londan.

Joey waited at home for several hours until dawn broke. When he became certain that his three students wouldn’t return, he picked up the phone and made a call.

“Master, the plan failed. We didn’t catch him.”

“How? What did you do?” Sidney snapped from the other end of the line. “How many times have I told you not to underestimate the enemy just because he’s an apprentice? Mages aren’t invincible. Guns and bullets can take our lives just as easily.”

“You misunderstand, Master. I didn’t underestimate him. Quite the contrary, I sent my four best students...” Joey hurried to explain and appease Sidney’s anger. “Only the one standing watch returned. The other three remained unreachable after a whole night. The target is a mage apprentice and shouldn’t have been able to resist. I suspect someone is helping him.”

“Tell me. Where did your students go missing?”

“The address is 13 Manor Street, Western District.”

“None of the residents there is ordinary,” Sidney said with displeasure. “Why didn’t you tell me before taking action?”

“Master, I only just found out...”

“Enough. Leave the city and lie low for a few days. Don’t contact me without my orders.”

“I’m sorry for disappointing you.”

Joey respectfully waited for Sidney to hang up before packing a few changes of clothes, planning to hide at his old family home in the countryside for a few days.

As he drove out of Londan, the car was intercepted by two police officers. Before realizing what was going on, he was already shackled in silver handcuffs.

“Damn it, do you know who I am? How dare you do this to me?”

Joey was furious. He was a Silver-rank mage. Did they really think they could just push him around?

“Joey Dobbin, we know you’re a mage and a disciple of the Church of Nature. You have the right to remain silent. Trust me, if you dare resist, you’ll face much harsher treatment.”

He fell silent. Clearly, the officers arresting him weren’t ordinary people, either.

He didn’t understand what had happened. He even suspected that Sidney had sold him out—that his master had thrown him to the wolf as a scapegoat to protect himself.

***

“Trash!”

Meanwhile, Sidney hung up and declared his student’s career dead. If he couldn’t even handle something this simple, how could he serve Sidney in the future? Better to do without such an incompetent student.

But frustratingly, Joey was already one of his most reliable students. The rest were equally bad.

Sidney didn’t yet know that his student had been targeted. He called an old friend to inquire about the address, checking the background of the homeowner. Not good. The mansion belonged to the Lando family.

Bam!

He slammed the table and stood up, his expression terrifyingly dark. The Lando family was one of the fourteen Tulip Families of the Kingdom of Windsor and one of the knights the royal family relied on most.

It wasn’t common knowledge, but Sidney knew that the fourteen Tulip Families were the ones who had established the infamous organization in Windsor—the Free Mage Alliance.

The Free Mage Alliance influenced the entire magical world of Windsor. While it maintained a low profile and seemed so weak that every church was able to stomp on them, the organization was hiding its actual power, and what was visible was but the tip of the iceberg.

His people had barged into the Lando family’s home to kidnap someone—the consequences were evident.

He could already imagine Auston Lando telling the Queen that if Sidney dared to snatch someone from his home, he wouldn’t hesitate before kidnapping the Queen herself in the future—better to kill him now than let a risk fester!

And the Lando family wasn’t the only problem. The mistress of the family, Silvia Lando, was the current High Reverend of the Church of Nature’s Windsor branch!

Sidney knew that she saw him as a thorn in her hide, and his power in Londan something to uproot as soon as possible. She hadn’t done so only because she didn’t have enough support.

He had been keeping a low profile these days precisely to avoid giving her ammunition to use against him. Who would’ve thought that he would give her leverage by going after a mage apprentice?

Who was the apprentice anyway? How was he even connected to the Lando family? Was he Wayne Lando?

Sidney was beside himself with rage. His patience had become wasted effort just like that. The root problem was, of course, the Lord of the Void. If not for his former master’s many “last requests”, he wouldn’t have been put in such a difficult position.

He rushed to his study and opened the hidden door to enter the black void. His will slammed into the golden statue.

Wake up, old man! Wake the fuck up!

A strand of thought emerged from the statue, from which came the voice of the Lord of the Void. “Sidney, my dear student, have you brought the target?”

“Who? The mage apprentice named Wayne?!” Sidney said through gritted teeth. “Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused me? Yes, he’s quite ordinary, but he has backing. I might have painted a target on my back as a result.”

“Who could make a Gold-rank mage lose composure like this? My student, you underestimate yourself,” the Lord of the Void said dismissively. “You’ve been tied down by false power and honor. Only by breaking free will you see your true self. This may be an opportunity for you to rank up to legendary...”

“Shut up and keep your nonsense to yourself. You’re mad, but I’m not,” Sidney lashed out. “I can’t help you anymore. Find someone else. Don’t ever come looking for me again.”

“Hahaha, my student, you seem truly angry. Tell me, who is Wayne’s support? Whose wings is he under?”

“A Tulip Family!”

“Tulip...” The Lord of the Void murmured to himself for a long time before saying, “Such a familiar name. I seem to have heard it somewhere.”

Sidney was nearly dying of anger. He knew this old madman couldn’t be depended on. If the legendary mage who had made a name in Windsor forgot even the Tulip Families, why couldn’t he have forgotten about his student, too?!

What exactly made you remember me?! I’ll change!

“Forget it. If I can’t remember, it’s not worth remembering.” The Lord of the Void changed the topic, speaking icily, “Sidney, bring Wayne to me. Immediately. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

“Is this how you ask someone for a favor, Marshall?!” Sidney’s tone was equally cold.

“This is an order!”

The statue blazed with light, projecting the Lord of the Void’s will. Bits of white flesh appeared from nothing, the points connecting to lines and then forming areas, turning the dark void into a breeding ground for white flesh. Tendrils crawled like veins, and white translucent skin secreted mucus, with blood vessel-like patterns crisscrossing underneath. Every piece of nauseating, rotten flesh pulsed with abnormally evil vitality.

The white flesh overran the dark void and surrounded Sidney from all directions, cutting off the exits in the blink of an eye, preventing him from escaping.

Sidney’s eyes blazed with murderous intent. Without any visible movement from him, a golden triangle took shape under his feet, conjuring a life barrier to block the encroaching white flesh and protect his mind.

“Sidney, my most extraordinary student...” many voices said in a chorus.

Tentacles of white flesh pressed against the barrier and writhed, opening maws that seemed like abysses. With each opening of the mouths, the sharp teeth within flashed with cold light, grinding against the barrier with screeching noises.

Dozens of voices rang out in succession. Bone-chilling wind howled past, yanking at Sidney’s mind and disturbing his rationality.

His vision plunged into darkness, and his expression turned grim. If it were just the truth from the void, he could barely block it with his barrier. The Lord of the Void would never shake his mind and faith as long as he hadn’t stepped through the Gate of Truth.

That was what he had thought. But now he realized that the Lord of the Void had long tampered with him. Perhaps it happened even before his master went mad, or perhaps it was during their few transactions in the past.

In any case, his mind was already under the Lord of the Void’s control. He could drag his thoughts into the vast universe of void at any time or make his thoughts freeze and wither.

“Damn it, what have you done to me?”

“Guided you to learn true life magic, my student. It’s only what a master should do for their students.”

Some of the abyssal maws closed while others opened, sending continuous waves of noise drilling into Sidney’s ears. Face ashen, he shed tears of regret. If he were given another chance, he would never have made a deal with this old psycho.

“Look at these tears of joy. My student, hurry and bring Wayne to me. Otherwise...”

Hallucinations appeared before Sidney. A white tentacle pierced through the barrier and brushed across his face to catch a teardrop.

“You’re vain and crave worldly power. You don’t want to lose any of it, do you?”

A giant white maw opened up in the dark world before Sidney, the mountains of white teeth reeking of suffocating stench. It swallowed him whole.

!

Sidney jerked awake to find himself standing in the black void. There was no terrifying white flesh, no maws constantly gnawing on his life barrier. There was nothing at all, not even the golden statue.

“An illusion?”

Looking at the empty black void, he felt a shudder and quickly returned to his study, erasing the mental chamber he had constructed with his thought. The Lord of the Void seemed to have left, yet he could still hear the whispers in his ears: Find Wayne, immediately. Offer him to your master.

He shook his head to dispel the voice. He picked up the mirror on his desk and saw his bloodless face in the reflection.

In the depths of his eyes, something seemed to be writhing, ready to crawl out at any time. He tossed away the mirror violently, feeling cold sweat drenching him. He stood up and planned to head to the asylum for counselling.

The moment he stood, however, he froze in place. If he went now, the director’s brutal treatment might not do anything to the Lord of the Void, but it would kill him for sure.

“Can’t go to the asylum. Can’t let anyone know.”

He screamed as he opened the drawer, frantically rummaging through it until he found and put on a pair of sunglasses. Finally, he settled down.

He shakily opened a wine bottle and took a large gulp. Red wine went down his beard as he spoke hoarsely, like he was placing a curse, “Don’t blame me, Wayne. I have a long way ahead of me, but not you. You’ve been targeted by the old psycho. If not me, other mages will be looking for you...”

***

Evening.

Silvia left the mansion at midday. Her constitution was so incredibly robust that even after days of staying awake, she was able to return to work completely rejuvenated with only four hours of sleep.

After waking up, she had eaten no less voraciously than Isabella, with the difference being that Silvia didn’t gain any weight no matter how much she ate.

Wayne finally understood why she had her job while he could only sleep in the basement. And he realized that her husband wasn’t inadequate—no eternal love could stay hard when his partner was a physical monster like Silvia.

Before leaving, Silvia assured Wayne that she had placed barriers around the mansion to make sure no one would disturb him tonight. If they did, she asked him to immediately flee to the sewers and run as far as possible.

Seeing her leave in anger, Wayne could guess what Joey Dobbin’s fate would be. Fool. I’ve got a long leg to latch onto. You dared to go after your top supervisor’s student? Today you’ll get your just desserts!

He still didn’t know how he had offended Joey; he had never even heard of the name. No matter how he thought about it, the only possibility was that he had been exposed as Silvia’s student, and the power struggle within the Church of Nature led to him getting dragged into the mess.

He would have to wait for his master’s investigation to learn the specifics. At least now he had some peace and quiet. Lying in the air raid shelter, he welcomed his wailing old friends home.

Around midnight, he suddenly sensed something. His supernatural sense frantically alerted him to a rapidly approaching danger. It was already right at the basement door.

He remembered Silvia’s warning and groaned in despair. So the magical world also followed the same pattern: after defeating the minions, the elites showed up, and after defeating the elites, the bosses would come knocking. He dropped his book and headed straight for the sewers.

Without pause, he dove into the sewers and ran around eight kilometers without looking back. His supernatural sense sounded a warning intermittently. Whenever he stopped, he would receive a warning, and whenever he ran, the warning would cease.

After another ten kilometers, he couldn’t take it anymore. He was unable to shake off his tail even after getting lost, which meant that the other party was able to track him precisely.

No running. Time to give up! Since he couldn’t escape, it was time to draw the sword!

“Are you going to stop running?” Sidney’s footsteps came from the corner ahead. Emerging, he looked at Wayne and said indifferently, “I must say you’re quite good to have repeatedly evaded capture. At least your intuition is sharp. Unfortunately, you’re too weak. That’s your biggest mistake.”

“Who are you?”

Wayne didn’t waste any time. His pursuer was obviously a great villain since he wore sunglasses in a sewer late at night. While talking, Wayne raised his hand and fired from over ten meters away.

Bang!

The bullet hit Sidney’s chest... or rather, the space in front of him, blocked by a flashing life barrier. Sidney caught the still-heated bullet with his hand. “Doesn’t matter who I am. What matters is the one looking for you. He calls himself the Lord of the Void, and he wants to meet you.”

Wayne’s heart sank. His supplier had tracked him down.

“Your gun doesn’t work on me. Be good and give up on resisting. Don’t make this difficult for me.”

Wayne said nothing. Yes, the gun might not work, but his sword was another matter entirely. Eyes narrowed, he was about to transform into the Death Knight when a voice said with regret from behind him.

“Sidney, in the end, you still take that step.”

Yet another!

Wayne turned around to see a disheveled old man with a white beard, looking unkempt and greasy all over.

The white beard, especially, was sticking together!