Warlock Apprentice

”Has Angel already left?” Muse asked softly.

Antonio: ”Yes, Mr. Pat left Sky Mechanical City through the Plane Corridor three hours ago.”

Muse nodded and continued, ”What about Horus?”

Antonio seemed to understand what Muse wanted to ask and openly replied, ”Lord Horus has returned to the main district. I had relayed information to him via the Magic Energy Eye earlier. I trust that with Lord Horus’s vision and reputation, today’s matter should not be spread outside.”

”That’s good.” Muse exhaled a long breath, then got to the main topic: ”Did you find any clues by coming to see me?”

Antonio immediately nodded, ”Yes. I previously dispatched the Magic Energy Eye to patrol near Hong Kui Square without any discoveries, but when we investigated the place where Si Man is temporarily staying, we found some oddities.”

Muse concentrated, watching Antonio closely, waiting for his statement.

”When the Arrow of the Defeated tore through the Void and descended, the entire city was enveloped in darkness. According to Si Man’s friends Helen and Livi, they were wondering what was happening when Si Man suddenly fell silent. They were so focused on the light brought by the Arrow of the Defeated that they didn’t immediately notice Si Man’s situation until the darkness slowly dissipated, and they realized Si Man had fainted.”

”Si Man fainted? Could it be the work of the Sprout Cultists?” Muse speculated.

Antonio: ”According to Si Man’s account, she vaguely saw a figure before fainting. This figure was not Helen or Livi, it is very likely to be a Sprout Cultist.”

Muse pondered, ”If it were the Sprout Cultists, why only attack Si Man and not kill her? Or take her away?”

Antonio: ”Perhaps it couldn’t be done? Although it was dark, there were still many people on the streets, and checkpoints were not relaxed. Taking Si Man away unnoticed would not be easy.”

Muse: ”That could be the reason, but it’s not complete.”

”What do you mean?”

”Perhaps his goal wasn’t to kill or take Si Man...” Muse squinted, seeming to have thought of something, ”I have an idea; I need to meet with Si Man.”

Antonio: ”Alright, I’ll arrange for Si Man to come over immediately.”

”No need.” A sweet voice suddenly came from beside Antonio, and when he turned his head, the handsome young man was gone, replaced by a glamorous palace-attired lady.

No doubt, Antonio instantly recognized this as the form the headmaster had transformed into using Shapeshifting Technique.

Muse held a goose feather fan, half-covering her face, crisp laughter emanating from behind the fan, ”I’ll go find her myself. Let me think, under what pretext? I remember a Tea Party seems to be happening soon, that pretext works.”

Saying this, Muse waved the fan and vanished from Fantasy Mechanical City.

Half an hour later, in Si Man’s room, Muse finally managed to send Helen away and approached Si Man with a smile, waving the fan in Si Man’s suspicious gaze.

Si Man felt a gust of fragrance brush past, her consciousness then drifted into slumber.

Muse gazed quietly at Si Man, seemingly pondering something.

”Headmaster, what do you intend to do now?” Numerous light spots converged into a faint blue spirit, Antonio appeared out of thin air inside the cramped room.

Muse smiled charmingly but did not answer Antonio’s question, instead elegantly tapping Si Man’s forehead with the fan.

A minute later, Muse retracted the fan, flicked it open and shook it, her eyes slightly solemn, ”Go call Rosen over.”

Antonio did not ask why and activated the call to Rosen, who was currently attending a meeting at the Infinite Battle Tower, through the Magic Energy Eye.

After a while, Rosen, clad in a golden Wizard Robe, appeared before Muse.

Rosen looked at Muse’s graceful lady disguise with unperturbed eyes, seemingly accustomed to Muse’s antics.

”Why did you call me over? I’m currently holding an internal emergency meeting regarding the Sprout issue.”

Rosen’s tone was calm, but the implication was clear: if there isn’t a more urgent matter, I need to leave soon.

Muse chuckled and pointed with the fan towards the sleeping Si Man on the bed, ”I’ve made an important discovery, you might want to take a look at her.”

Following Muse’s gaze, Rosen looked over, ”Is there something amiss with Si Man?”

Muse did not explain but instead lightly tapped her own forehead with the fan. Rosen seemed to understand something, swiftly stepped forward, and used cold mechanical fingers to touch Si Man’s forehead.

Rosen: ”There are traces of anomalies left behind. Indeed, they are in collusion within and without?”

Muse nodded, recounting the situation that Antonio had discovered: ”...I suspect the Sprout Cultists tried to probe Si Man’s memory through some method.”

Rosen: ”The possibility is strong, but regrettably, this individual’s strength isn’t formidable. Si Man’s memory has already been blurred by processing, he did not breakthrough the defenses I previously set.”

”Even if he did, it wouldn’t matter. Si Man herself doesn’t know much; she only knows she’s become a sacrifice, she doesn’t even know the general details of the Sprout.”

In Rosen’s view, the opponent could learn nothing from Si Man, but they left traces that allowed them to be tracked.

However, Muse shook her head, ”Perhaps, what they want to see isn’t just the blurred memory.”

”In the blurred memory, the only person who appears is you. Yet, in the unshielded memory, traces of other people remain.”

Rosen: ”You mean... Angel?”

Muse nodded, Si Man’s memory was somewhat blurred, Helen and Livi’s memories were partially erased, however, details about Angel still persist in their memories.

In their memories, Angel may not be the conclusion to everything, but he is the cause of some events.

Though his presence is not as prominent as Rosen’s, he might still catch the attention of the Sprout Cultists.

When it concerns Angel, Rosen’s gaze became unexpectedly serious, as Angel had saved him before.

Rosen thought for a moment, looked at Antonio, ”I will trace their footsteps to find their location. You continue monitoring Si Man, including Helen and Livi, make sure to protect their safety.”

Having told Antonio, Rosen then looked at Muse, ”Whether Angel is targeted or not, use the Signal Tower to inform him of this issue.”

”You handle Angel’s aspect, and I’ll take care of all public matters relating to the Sprout incident.”

Muse immediately understood Rosen’s meaning, as he was shot by the Arrow of the Defeated, he won’t be shot a second time due to its trait. Additionally, Rosen publicly taking responsibility for the matter could indirectly reduce Angel’s involvement in this incident.

Muse nodded, ”Alright. I’ll contact Angel shortly.”