Translator: SumTLMan
Under the dark moonlit sky, a crow with blood-red eyes flew across the horizon, flapping its wings and landing on the Magician’s hand.
A note was tied to the crow’s claw, which the Magician removed and set the crow free.
The note read: “Gloomy Forest, Corpse Hiding Cave.”
“What is Mitchel thinking, having the gathering here this time?” The Magician frowned after reading the note and handed it to Angel.
Angel arrived at the Magician’s base at 8 pm. The Magician was his guide, so to attend the extraordinary gathering, he had to meet with the Magician first.
However, he didn’t expect that the note with the gathering location wouldn’t arrive until almost midnight.
“Who is Mitchel? Is it their real name?” Angel took the note, glanced at the location, and was utterly clueless about the place described.
“I don’t know if it’s their real name either,” the Magician explained. “They are the organizer of this gathering. Each of our extraordinary gatherings has an organizer, and this time it’s their turn.”
Angel furrowed his brow and asked, “With this rotation system, aren’t you afraid that someone might set up traps and ambushes at specific locations?”
The Magician shook his head, “It’s impossible to set traps. For us, communication is the only way to promote our abilities.”
Angel originally wanted to ask if they were not afraid of being killed and robbed, but considering the wealth of this group of people, there probably wasn’t anything worth robbing. The only thing they could make good use of was – staying alive. Only by living could they communicate, and only through communication could they grow.
“Let’s go. If it weren’t for introducing you today, I wouldn’t want to go with this location,” the Magician complained and took the lead.
“What’s wrong with this location?” Angel asked.
The Magician shook his head, “There’s not much of a problem, but it’s said to be haunted. I’ve been there before, and there’s nothing strange, but it’s too dark and doesn’t smell good.”
Angel pondered, “The name Corpse Hiding Cave seems a bit inappropriate?”
“Inappropriate is an understatement. It’s actually a massive charnel ground! Gloomy Forest is located in the Bajon Mountains, and the Corpse Hiding Cave is where the forest guards dispose of corpses. The bodies of poachers or those killed by wild beasts are thrown into this cave by the forest guards. Over the years, countless corpses have accumulated there,” the Magician complained.
Angel remembered the Magician mentioning their previous gatherings, which were mostly filled with champagne, fine wine, and lavish feasts. Even the more low-key ones were held in top-notch castles. Going to a Corpse Hiding Cave for a gathering was a first, no wonder he looked disgusted.
Angel also felt that this gathering seemed different. Why would they choose a corpse-filled cave for a regular communication gathering?
The two left the city, quickened their pace, and rushed toward the mountain forest.
The more they ran, the more familiar Angel felt… Wasn’t this the same path he had taken when he left the forest?
When they arrived at the Gloomy Forest, a faint light flashed in the depths of Angel’s eyes.
This forest was precisely the one Angel had passed through when he left the ranger’s cabin. At that time, he had felt puzzled about this place.
It was because the vegetation in this forest was too dense and the trees were tall with lush foliage, blocking out all sunlight. Even at noon, walking here felt as dark as night. However, that wasn’t enough to bother Angel. What left a deep impression on him was the faint resentment in the air.
At that time, he had speculated whether many people were buried underground… Now it seemed that his guess was not wrong, but it was not underground, but in the Corpse Hiding Cave.
“Here we are, this is the Corpse Hiding Cave,” said the Magician, pointing to a dark cave.
The cave was located between several flourishing trees, with an opening of about five to six meters. It was pitch-black, and they couldn’t see the bottom. Angel could smell a strong, rotten odor even before he got close.
“The plants here can grow so densely, thanks to this cave,” the Magician said, looking disgustedly at the cave. The pungent, foul smell made him reluctant to enter.
However, thinking that Angel would provide some knowledge when joining the extraordinary gathering, he pinched his nose, bowed his head, and jumped into the cave.
Angel followed suit. But after jumping into the cave, he secretly instructed Toby to be on guard. When the Magician had first received the note, Angel had thought he was overreacting. It was only when he arrived at the Corpse Hiding Cave, saw the environment, and felt the filthiness in the air that he understood why the Magician was angry… Choosing such a place for a wizards’ gathering was indeed problematic.
“Damn Michel, I’ll make sure he knows how wrong it is to have a gathering here!” The Magician landed and cursed, preparing to light a fire.
“Wait, don’t light it,” Angel said, smelling the strong, pungent odor in the air, a mix of rot and gas.
Angel used a spell to produce light.
As the light illuminated their surroundings, the situation became clear.
There were corpses everywhere, some reduced to white bones, while others were still rotting. The Magician discovered that he was standing next to a half-decayed corpse, with maggots crawling on it and black-shelled insects carrying rotten flesh on the ground.
The Magician kicked the head of the corpse away, saying, “In this kind of place, who would have an appetite to eat anything at tonight’s gathering? Could Mitchel be deliberately trying to disgust us?”
Angel glanced at the Magician silently: You’re still thinking about eating?
“Is the gathering place inside?” Under the illumination of the light spell, Angel saw a winding passage in the cave. The end of the passage was pitch-black, like a giant mouth waiting to devour people, emitting a strong, foul smell.
“It should be,” the Magician said, walking towards the passage first. Angel lowered his hat, reducing his presence, and followed behind the Magician.
“This is the Light spell, right?” The Magician walked alongside Angel, admiring him, “It’s great; you know so many more tricks than I do.”
Angel just smiled and didn’t respond.
The Magician originally wanted to take advantage of the situation and see if he could get some information about the Light spell, but since Angel didn’t even reply, he had to remain silent as well.
This cold atmosphere continued until they reached the end of the corridor.
At the end was a large door, which had already been opened. They could see that many people were sitting around a round table inside, with only one empty seat remaining.
Everyone at the table was smiling and looking at the Magician.
“Magician, you’re really slow. We’re only waiting for you now,” the brown-haired young man sitting at the head of the table called out.
The Magician glared at the young man and scolded, “Mitchel! What are you up to, having the gathering here?”
Mitchel, the brown-haired young man, laughed, “We always have luxurious banquets; I wanted to try something different this time. Surprised, huh?”
“Surprised my ass,” the Magician cursed.
“Not bad, kid. It’s been half a year, and you can already cast the Light spell,” Mitchel didn’t mind being cursed at. He got up from his seat, walked over, grabbed the Magician’s arm, and dragged him inside.
“The Light spell is…” the Magician turned his head to introduce Angel, only to find that there was no one behind him, and the Light spell had disappeared as well.
At that moment, Mitchel had already dragged him into the room. When the Magician entered, he wanted to break free from Mitchel’s grasp and go back to see where Angel had gone, but before he could leave, Mitchel stopped him.
Mitchel’s mouth curled into a strange smile, “Now that you’re here, don’t leave.”
This sentence, combined with Mitchel’s expression, raised a sense of alert in the Magician’s heart. He looked around at the other people in the room, and everyone was smiling at him, but their expressions were all as stiff and puppet-like, regardless of gender.
“What’s going on with all of you? Vinnie? Captain? Long Ears? Brutus?” The Magician called out one by one, but no one responded until he saw a man wearing a wide-brimmed, low hat, and finally got a response, “Shadow?”
The man took off his hat, waved at the Magician with a smile, “Ah, it’s been a long time.”
“Shadow? What’s going on?” Fear flickered in the Magician’s eyes, and he felt something was wrong, so he began to step back.
However, when he retreated, Mitchel blocked him. But at this point, Mitchel’s expression had also become as dull and wooden as the others, with only a faint smile on his lips.
“What’s going on? A gathering? Hurry up and take a seat; I have something useful to tell you all today.” Shadow pointed at the only empty seat and spoke to the Magician.
The Magician timidly refused, “No need, I, I have to leave first.”
However, before the Magician could turn around, the heavy bronze door behind him slammed shut with a loud bang, stirring up dust from the floor.
The Magician ran to the door, trying to pull it open, but found it locked. Without the key, it was impossible to open.
“What are you trying to do? Rob me? I have nothing on me!” The Magician remembered that not long ago, Angel had asked him if he wasn’t afraid of being ambushed with traps. He had confidently replied that no one would do such a thing, but now it seemed that he was being punished.
Right, the Magician’s eyes lit up. Where was Angel? Did he discover something was wrong earlier and decided to hide?
Thinking of this possibility, the Magician shouted, “Angel… save me!”
Before he could finish his words, he saw a small shadow fall from the sky and swoop in front of him. Just as the Magician was about to speak, the small shadow reached out and pulled a struggling shadow from the Magician’s body, placing it into a gray bag…
The small shadow laughed a strange, giggling laugh upon capturing the shadow, then hopped back onto Shadow’s shoulder and handed him the gray bag.
Shadow patted the small shadow’s head as if to reward it.
“What is that?” The Magician felt weak but didn’t pass out like others who had lost their shadows.
Shadow touched the gray bag, “This is my trophy.”
Trophy? The Magician seemed to realize something and looked down at the ground—
“My shadow… it’s gone?! So, it was you who’s been stealing shadows in the city!”
Shadow raised an eyebrow, “Ah? When did you find out?”
The Magician gasped for breath, “Blond hair, blue eyes… you always sit next to Cabasa and Little John…”
Shadow suddenly understood, “So that’s the reason… I didn’t expect you to be the smartest person here. Well, now it’s time to reward the smart person.”
As he spoke, Shadow suddenly opened his hands, and white lines emerged from his fingers. The lines, charged with a surging magical power, rushed into the gray bag containing the Magician’s shadow.
A miniature black figure was dragged out of the bag.
Upon closer inspection, the palm-sized black figure was similar to the Magician’s silhouette, only completely black and lacking any distinguishable features.
Shadow used the white lines to control the black figure, slowly moving it on the table.
At the same time, the Magician’s expression became dull as he followed the black figure’s movements on the table. If the black figure stepped with its left foot, he would do the same; if it lifted its right foot, he would lift his right foot as well.
He had become a real puppet.
And the puppeteer was none other than Shadow!