The True Magician

Heglais Town.

After the interrogation of the innkeeper concluded, a red light flashed in Luo Wei's hand as he conjured a small dagger using blood magic, cutting the ropes binding the innkeeper.

The innkeeper immediately fell into the bonfire, howling in pain as he frantically patted out the flames and scrambled away from the fire.

Luo Wei glanced at him, but the innkeeper didn’t dare meet his gaze, silently moving to untie the other townsfolk.

Exhausted from the long journey and having had no proper rest the previous night, Helena let out a deep yawn.

Luo Wei looked at her tired face and smiled. "Go back and rest for a bit. Catch up on sleep, and we’ll deal with everything else later."

Helena leaned against Luo Wei and nodded obediently.

The three of them returned to the inn where they had stayed the previous night. The innkeeper, too afraid to return, had likely decided to stay away after the events of the previous evening.

In the room, Helena fell into a deep sleep, while Luo Wei turned to Evelyn, who wore a serious expression.

"I didn’t expect the town to be caught up in something so serious..." She gazed out the window at the dilapidated town, her eyes filled with concern.

"Should we contact the outside world? If agents from the Special Affairs Department or the church knights were here, maybe the Magic Hermits wouldn’t be so brazen..."

Luo Wei thought for a moment. "But this isn’t Saint Callen. It’s remote, and the innkeeper said even the higher-ups in Brugge have been bribed. Any message we send out would probably just disappear."

Evelyn pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "Who says Saint Callen has no reach here? Isn’t Chief Inspector Raymond on vacation here?"

At the thought of Chief Inspector Raymond’s inevitable complaints and frustration, Luo Wei couldn’t help but chuckle. "Looks like the chief’s peaceful vacation is about to end..."

"That’s just his fate," Evelyn laughed softly, but then her expression turned serious again.

"What do you think about the curse of the deity?" she asked, frowning.

Luo Wei’s expression also grew serious. Earlier, the innkeeper had mentioned that the restless spirit of a deity haunted the coast, cursing the people of the town. Anyone who tried to leave would turn into a desiccated corpse...

He couldn’t help but recall the two strange rumors he had heard from the coachman when they first arrived in Brugge.

The first rumor was that a year or two ago, a traveler who had detoured through the town spent a night here and went mad after leaving.

The second rumor was that, not long ago, a group of merchants came to the town, and none of them left alive.

If these stories were true, they fit the timeline of the town’s curse. People who came half a year ago could still leave, but those who arrived later died...

"So, we’re trapped here?" Evelyn looked out at the scenery beyond the town, not seeming particularly afraid, but then she suddenly paused.

"Huh—?"

"Didn’t they say no one can leave the town? What’s that townsman doing?"

Luo Wei was startled and quickly walked to the window, following her gaze.

Sure enough, they saw a man dressed as a townsman, sneaking up the rocky cliffs, trying to leave the town through the high ground on either side.

What’s more, the man’s pace was unnaturally fast, clearly indicating he was a superhuman.

Luo Wei and Evelyn exchanged glances, both intrigued.

"Let’s go check it out!"

Two crimson shadows swiftly vanished from the inn room, chasing after the suspicious townsman.

As they reached the edge of the town, where the buildings became sparse, the terrain grew increasingly steep. This rugged landscape was the main reason Heglais Town was so isolated.

Luo Wei and Evelyn watched as the man used an incredibly strange footwork technique. With each simple step, he covered over ten meters, almost as if he were floating across the cliffs.

But Luo Wei and Evelyn were fast too, and since they didn’t need to be as stealthy as the man, they quickly closed the distance. When the man noticed them, it was as if he had eyes on the back of his head. His face, hidden in the shadows of his hood, turned toward them with a dark, menacing glare.

His voice was hoarse and carried a hint of surprise.

"Who are you?"

Luo Wei stood atop a taller building, looking at him levelly.

"I was about to ask you the same question."

The man narrowed his eyes, quickly sizing up Luo Wei and Evelyn, then glanced toward the coast.

Luo Wei sensed that the man was clearly avoiding something, but it wasn’t the townsfolk.

Without another word, the cloaked man answered Luo Wei’s question with magic.

Luo Wei watched as the man pulled out a magic crystal from somewhere, and in an instant, a blinding blue light erupted.

"Luo Wei! Watch out!" Evelyn shouted a warning.

Luo Wei didn’t need the reminder; he had already leaped off the building the moment the man moved.

Almost instantly, a beam of light, trailing a blue tail like a comet, struck the chimney where Luo Wei had just been standing, reducing it to rubble in an explosive burst of bricks and debris.

But that wasn’t the end of it. As Luo Wei landed in a precarious position, the magic crystal lit up again, and another beam shot toward him.

With his agility boosted by 50 points, Luo Wei dodged swiftly, his vampiric abilities allowing him to leave a crimson afterimage on the ground.

When he turned to look back, an entire building had been reduced to ruins, the ground pockmarked with terrifying craters.

Luo Wei broke out in a cold sweat. This enemy was a true mage, and one highly skilled in crystal magic. They had stumbled upon a formidable opponent.

He quickly looked up to see Evelyn’s blood magic already closing in on the cloaked man. With a single raised hand, Evelyn conjured a massive, twisting bramble of crimson thorns that blotted out the sky, blocking the mage’s attacks while simultaneously striking at him from multiple angles.

The mage countered swiftly, summoning several more magic crystals that orbited his body. This time, his incantation took slightly longer, but soon, a barrage of magical comets rained down from the sky, showering Evelyn like a hail of projectiles.

Evelyn smirked. Floating in the air, a cloud of blood mist erupted from her body, spreading across the sky. The sheer volume of blood was beyond imagination, causing each comet to explode mid-air before it could reach her. The sky was soon drenched in a crimson rain.

The mage frowned, clearly surprised that his attack had been so easily neutralized. He glanced toward the distant coastline, then turned and fled up the cliff without a word.

But Evelyn was faster. A crimson shadow flashed past, and Evelyn, wielding a massive blood-red scythe, slashed at the mage’s back.

The mage’s frustration was evident. He turned, and with a flash of light from his magic crystal, a glowing blue greatsword appeared in his hands.

As the scythe and greatsword clashed, the mage narrowed his eyes, and another magic crystal orbiting him began to glow, signaling the imminent casting of another spell.

But suddenly, he froze, his body trembling as the spell fizzled out.

Luo Wei had appeared behind him, like a ghost.

**[Mental Pollution]**

A powerful psychic shock pierced the mage’s mind, and his face twisted in agony. His eyes bloodshot, he let out a guttural roar.

"Now!" Luo Wei shouted, seizing the opportunity.

Evelyn’s smirk widened as her crimson scythe swung toward the mage’s waist.

Luo Wei mirrored her movements, his **[Crimson Blade]** slashing toward the mage’s skull.

In a battle of this caliber, neither **[Barton Technique]** nor a revolver would be of any use. Luo Wei’s most powerful attacks were still rooted in Evelyn’s blood magic.

Caught between the two, with no way to escape the vampiric speed of his attackers, the mage’s expression turned to one of shock.

But miraculously, the combined assault didn’t kill him. With a series of sharp cracks, several magic crystals shattered, releasing a burst of energy that sent both Luo Wei and Evelyn flying backward.

Evelyn was flung more than ten meters away. After scrambling to cling to the rocky cliff, she shot a cold glare at the mage.

"It's a defensive spell..."

Luo Wei was also thrown far by the force. Unlike Evelyn, who could momentarily hover in mid-air, he plummeted straight toward the ground from the cliff.

Seeing that he was about to crash onto the ground—a fall that would either kill him or leave him crippled—Luo Wei, in his desperation, felt his skin suddenly turn black. His arms stretched to over five meters long, just barely managing to grab onto the spire of a church.

The tremendous speed of his descent caused his arm bones to crack and his muscles to tear apart. Gritting his teeth against the excruciating pain, Luo Wei clung tightly to the spire. His blackened arms had now transformed into tentacles, coiling tightly around the structure. At the last possible moment before hitting the ground, his body swung upward.

When he finally landed safely on the spire, Luo Wei, still enduring the pain in his arms, immediately looked up.

The mage was glaring furiously at the two of them, occasionally glancing toward the sea, his expression a mix of urgency and irritation.

Realizing that escape was no longer an option, the mage seemed to have decided to deal with the nuisance in front of him before leaving.

Luo Wei watched as the mage sneered, and suddenly, hundreds—no, thousands—of magic crystals appeared in the sky. The blue light they emitted was even more dazzling than the sun.

"Holy crap! That many?" Luo Wei was stunned.

"Are you cheating or something?"

Evelyn also wore a look of shock. Judging by the mage's frantic demeanor, it seemed he had thrown out every last bit of his magical reserves.

"Luo Wei!" she instinctively shouted, rushing toward him. "We can't block this! Run!!"