Chapter 53: Hunting Wilde

Byron stared at the approaching elf and muttered, "Lord?"

He was utterly shocked.

From his knowledge of history, those capable of having elves worship them were probably only those four Primordial Witches.

But it couldn't be that a Primordial Witch had descended from the dream realm and was in the bookstore just across the street.

"The blessed emissary of my lord has the right to represent my lord's will."

Doris turned towards Byron and flashed a beaming smile. "Seems like the Truth Union is getting less sensible by the day. Was it my master's kindness that let you all have such ignorant courage, or has too much curiosity already muddled your brains, giving you the audacity to pry at what my master does?"

Byron had on a set of easily identified scholar robes with the Truth Union insignia emblazoned on.

He was no stranger to the kind of wording and tone used by this elf. This was how a staunch believer whose everything was for their 'lord' was.

It wasn't just restricted to the Church of the Dome and other official religions. Even within the Truth Union, there were also some who would get fanatical when talking about the greatness of knowledge.

A tremendous aether dazzling like a torch exuded from the elf opposite them and she didn't conceal her dangerous aura at all.

It allowed Byron to sober up from his disoriented state and he was able to restrain his overwhelming curiosity. After being stunned for a few moments, he realized his back was riddled with cold sweat.

What was I thinking?

Ignoring Mr. Joseph's advice, having a dispute with him and trying to butt into a place classified as an S-Rank zone by Secret Rite Tower. My curiosity would have gotten me killed even if I had multiple lives.

Right now, Byron was bewildered and experienced a lingering fear. He swore to himself that he hadn't wanted to do so originally.

Even though he was the one in-charge dispatched over by the Truth Union, he didn't really have much combat ability and was purely responsible to make a record.

For a fight between Destructive-ranks, the one who ought to lead the investigations also ought to be a Destructive-rank. Moreover, Joseph, a former Great Radiant Knight had been right there.

Byron didn't know why he hadn't been able to think properly...

He eyed the quaint little bookstore then bowed. "No, no, no. I'm terribly sorry. Please forgive me. I was just trying to fulfill my duty to fully investigate the matter and make a report. That's all there is to it. I'm sure your benevolent lord wouldn't bother with an ignorant seeker of knowledge like me."

He had come to the realization that this elf had been the one involved in that battle.

Since that was the case, just having a simple understanding of the incident was enough.

As for that bookstore... It was too dangerous!

Doris returned a smile. "You ought to rejoice."

She walked over to the two men and said, "Due to certain reasons, these black magicians suddenly tried to use the Destructive-rank spell 'Polarizing Death Ray' on the bookstore and its surroundings. I stepped forward to halt it and killed them. That's all there is to it."

Joseph took a step forward and stood in front of Byron. "What do you think the reason for their actions was?"

In his heart, he was already adding on the information he knew about the bookstore owner.

From the looks of this matter, Scarlet Cult's black magicians had simultaneously launched three attacks targeted at existences that would prove huge obstacles to their operations. It could also be considered a large-scale counterattack.

And this battle was one amongst those three.

In the past month, the joint investigations between Secret Rite Tower and the Truth Union had led to many secret hideouts of Scarlet Cult and White Wolf being busted.

Their hiding spots were increasingly being diminished yet the place where the Magic Ovum Mirror was hidden hadn't been exposed yet.

On one hand, it was because of their prudent operations. They would immediately retreat through a teleportation gate each time they were successful and never lingered. Even if any members were caught, they would basically kill themselves on the spot.

Even though Scarlet Cult wasn't really a cult, the style in which they operated was as if they were all maniacal zealots.

The other aspect of this was because 'Precant' Morphey's Coffin of Eternal Rest continuously resurrected their members.

These resurrected puppets were numerous and while they were weaker than the original, they still served as great hindrances to investigations.

Yet another of their attacks was targeted at 'Spider', a branch of hunters that had broken off from White Wolves.

Due to the loss of 'Rat' Ruen's information network as well as 'Spider' consisting of members familiar with the White Wolf organization, White Wolf incurred heavy losses and were nearly destroyed before they fully cooperated with Scarlet Cult.

The last remaining attack was against Secret Rite Tower and the Truth Union whom they were in daily conflict with everyday, just that it was more ferocious this time around.

Anyone with a brain could easily guess that all this craziness was because the incubation of the Magic Ovum Mirror was in its final stages.

Yet, unexpectedly, an issue had occurred not within the lower rungs, but at the top of the hierarchy.

The top leader, 'Precant' Morphey had been killed in what should have been an easy and straightforward battle.

For the looks of things, the bookstore owner must have done something terrible to Scarlet Cult for him to be targeted.

And now, he had gotten himself an underling to just get rid of the Scarlet Sect's head.

This is the bookstore owner choosing to stand on our side! Joseph thought to himself.

Doris' beautiful smile didn't dissipate at all. She could see that the knight before her was trying to protect the young man behind him.

She tilted her head and frowned slightly, "How would I know? Shouldn't I be asking you instead? I arrived in Norzin representing the Iris Clan only to see my lord's emissary on the receiving end of an inexplicable attack by those thugs. Was I supposed to sit idly and not strike back?

"Moreover, I just helped you people stop these thugs, yet instead of being grateful, you bunch are trying to interrogate me in such an overbearing manner. Is this how Norzin treats its visitors?"

Joseph slightly loosened his mechanical limb and nodded. "I admit that our handling of this incident has been inadequate. Actually, I respect this bookstore owner greatly and I'm very grateful to him. He once lent me a book that helped solve troubles that were with me for a long time. If it weren't for the inconvenient circumstances today, I would have definitely paid him a visit now."

Byron chimed in hurriedly, "Since the matter has already been cleared up, we can return to submit our report. The Truth Union expresses our thanks for the contributions you have made to Norzin."

The communications device on his body sounded almost immediately after he had spoken.

Byron picked it up and his pupils narrowed when he saw the display. He immediately imbued aether to put the call through and took a deep breath. "Vice-chairman, sir."

"Um, Byron, hand the communications device to the great sage of the Iris Clan."

Byron held it carefully and looked towards Doris who took it over gleefully.

The voice on the other end sounded old but forceful. "Doris, it's been 300 years. I hope you are well?"

"Andrew?"

——

Norzin Central District, Truth Union General Office.

The white marble building had a refined design and sleek floorboards that even seemed to shine. The interior was spacious with sofas, seats, coffee tables, whiteboards, and numerous discussion zones flanking the open-air courtyard in the central point of the building.

This complex 13-story building was like a huge combination between a school building and a library.

The skeleton of an ancient dragon was encased in glass within the central openwork courtyard, serving as a display for people to marvel at.

At this moment, the luxuriously furnished office on the topmost floor was like an activity center for the elderly. Two old men were seated facing each other with a chessboard on the coffee table between them.

"Never imagined that the Iris Clan would reappear." One of the old men mused as he glanced at Truth Union Vice-chairman Andrew who had walked out to the balcony to make a call. "An old crush reappearing all of a sudden but a pity that dashing youth is now an old fogey."

"Watch out or your Alchemy funding will get cut." The other old man teased under his breath as he reached out to move a chess piece. "Wilde's bounty has been accepted by someone. Yet another huge sum will be paid out and you can just wait for that messy research project of yours to be shelved."