A Sorcerer's Journey 272 Brianna

Versailles City. Within the manor of the viscount's son lay an opulence unfathomable by the denizens of the slums.
There was a stench of lavish civilization and social etiquettes mixed with the vile and corrupt emanating from the very bones of these affluent-looking nobles.
The nobles or their ancestors were either sorcerers from some academy or the offsprings of their apprentices. Some of them came into nobility through connected marriages.
The nobles followed a very different system from the sorcerers. Their oppressive ways clamped down upon the peasants as they ruled, dominated, and pillaged with an iron fist.
Viscount Snott was holding up a glass of wine. A well-rounded cheerful bloke, he passed between families of nobles and approached his two revered guests, accompanied by graceful music. He was also with his two daughters, who were wearing revealing corsets and thick makeup.
Still, Viscount Snott thought ill of the other nobles, who brought their daughters along with them as well.
"These dirty maggots, they had their own lovers play the roles of their daughters. Hmph." While insinuating and insulting them in his mind, Snott went in front of the two revered guests.
These were two sorcerer's apprentices.
For the nobles, however, there was no distinction between sorcerers and their apprentices.
They were both males. One of them was completely cloaked under s loose-fitting grey sorcerer's robe. The capillaries in his eyes were a bright, bloodshot red as he stared coldly at the crowd. His cold presence made him unapproachable; akin to a hungry wolf.
The other person was wearing the same loose-fitting robe, but he was much more approachable. He looked like he was in his thirties. He had short hair and was smoking a pipe, happily chatting away with some of the young noblewomen.
Snott pushed away some of the nobles unknowingly. He held his daughters' hands and walked in front of the sorcerers. With a gentle smile, he said, "Revered sorcerers, we've followed your request to shut down all the city gates. Our guards have also been equipped with bows and crossbows. If anything happens, we'll let you know straight away."
Decades ago, after Versailles City had killed their first Black Sorcerer, all the nobilities became afraid and spared no coins to hire knights as their bodyguards.
To the Black Sorcerers, however, the knights were just a little stronger than the average human being.
"Right, understood."
"Gillence, they're ready. Let's not waste our time here and finish the mission." The cold, red-eyed sorcerer muttered in a hoarse voice.
All the nobles who were present turned stiff at his rude utterings.
How dare he call the meticulously-arranged dinner party a waste of time!
The young women who were initially cheery and trying to present themselves became quiet too after noticing the nobles' anger. They became teary-eyed and lost all sense of what to do next.
"Ed!"
The apprentice who had a tobacco pipe in his mouth yelled at the cold-eyed apprentice. He smiled apologetically to the nobles and pulled the cold-eyed apprentice across the hall to a corner.

"Etiquette! How many times do I have to tell, you, mind your etiquette! If you wish to complete this mission successfully, you better not piss them off. Else, these obnoxious people would make your life so miserable that we'll never find the person we're looking for."
The pipe-smoking apprentice stopped for a moment before continuing. "Also… do you think that this city, which had been searched every year for the past few decades could have a Black Sorcerer hiding here?"
After jeering at the cold-eyed apprentice, the pipe-smoking apprentice left him alone and headed for the pretentious nobles.
"Hmph, nobody knows." The cold-looking apprentice mumbled.
...
The next day.
Under the escort of hundreds of guardian knights, the two sorcerer-apprentices searched castle by castle. All the castle lords opened their gates, ready to be searched and questioned.
The search was an annual affair that had been going on for decades.
All of this had taken almost an entire day. Come sunset, the sky began to dim. Wearily, the two sorcerer-apprentices led the hundreds of guardian knights to the last market street.
Since there was a search going on, the whole Versailles City had been put on curfew. There wasn't a single soul in the well-lit street.
The peacekeepers, who were usually as lazy as parasites were busy tonight, running here and there to keep a lookout and, as their name suggested, maintaining the peace.
"Phew, the crystal ball's finished recording. Mission complete!" The pipe-smoking apprentice breathed a sigh of relief as he took in a nice, long puff.
The rest of the exhausted noblemen and knights too breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, they could return home to rest. There was joy on their tired faces.
However, the cold-eyed sorcerer's apprentice yelled out loudly, "Hold on, we haven't checked this place yet!"
The cold-eyed apprentice pointed at a very dark corner, making it hard to make out the roads and surroundings. It was putrid, filthy and there was a foul stench coming out from there.
The faces of all the noblemen and the knights turned. Viscount Snott quickly explained, "Great sorcerers, this is where the denizens live. Other than the overpacked denizens, the worms, cockroaches, and rats in the mud, no one would be here. The foul stench that emanated from within could not be suppressed even if Venus, the Goddess of Love herself were to be carried here from Ivory Castle Academy. How could one as noble as you…"
The pipe-smoking apprentice too shook his head.
"Ed, you're too nervous! Even a fallen Black Sorcerer wouldn't choose to live here."
Tsk…
Huff…
The pipe-smoking apprentice took another deep puff. He blew out a cloud of smoke to cover the stench coming from within.
"No! Our mission was to search the whole Versailles City. We must not overlook any corner. The master had always reminded us that the devil's in the details. The demon-hunting sorcerer of the Holy Tower is always reserved for those who are one step ahead of the others."
The noblemen looked in distraught at the pipe-smoking sorcerer's apprentice.
The pipe-smoking sorcerer took another puff. After looking at the cold-eyed sorcerer's apprentice's determined expressions, he felt troubled for a moment. He then came to a decision and yelled, "Continue!"
Viscount Snott tried to stop him. "Sir…"
"I said continue!"
The pipe-smoking apprentice did not allow any defiance to his words. He waved his magic staff and pointed at the dark, dirty, smelly alleyway.
Sigh…
Clop! Clop! Clop! As the viscount waved his hand, the group of knights galloped into the dirty alleyway. The mud on the street which was soiled with feces and urine splattered around as the horses kicked them up with their hooves. The aristocratic noblewomen covered their noses with handkerchiefs. Their faces were pale white, yet they dared not venture away on their own.
It was hard to imagine that for decades, none of the sorcerer's apprentices had ever set foot into this area.
First of all, they wouldn't dirty themselves. Secondly, they had in mind that the previous apprentices had checked the place. The third was the so-called logical reasoning… no Black Sorcerer would be caught living in this dilapidated environment!
"Peacekeeper, where is the street that often had reports of missing persons?" The cold-eyed apprentice took a glance at the fat person beside him and asked.
"Uhh... here…"
The peacekeepers never cared for these things. He desperately grabbed hold of another lackey peacekeeper beside him and asked, "Where's the place where denizens would go missing around here?"
It was the lackey peacekeeper's first time approaching the mysterious, terrifying sorcerer. His heart was racing as he pointed at a distance. "There... It is there where incidents would always happen."
The cold sorcerer waved his hand. "Come, let's go there!"
Clop, clop, clop, clop…
The horses trotted across the mud as they braved the overpowering stench, going in the direction pointed by the cold-eyed sorcerer. Many denizens peeked sheepishly through their windows from both sides of the alleyway as the torch-bearing knights passed through them.
Moments later.
"Halt!!!"
The pipe-smoking sorcerer's apprentice screamed in bewilderment. There was a red blip on the crystal ball in his hand.
"A Black Sorcerer! A Black Sorcerer! A Black Sorcerer's hiding here!" He screamed frightfully. The pipe-smoking sorcerer and the cold-looking sorcerer's faces quickly turned to fear.
They were in sheer terror although they were the sharpest of the sorcerer's apprentices once they encountered the enemy of humanity, even if only a Black Sorcerer apprentice…
"Hmph! I've gotta change spots again! Damn you both!" A dark, hoarse, angry voice came out.
In an old dilapidated hut, an eye that had a golden iris opened up slowly. The terrifying aura of human despair covered the Black Sorcerer's apprentice which also made all the knights who were present shiver uncontrollably. The horses neighed in fear and started to panic out of control.
It was the stench of humanity's sworn enemy.
The pipe-smoking sorcerer's apprentice took out the reward scroll and whispered at the cold-eyed apprentice who stood beside him. "Bounty for the sixth apprentice of the Black Sorcerer, Brianna. Be careful, this is a terrifying person who left Black Isotta Academy two hundred years ago. We're no match for her. Try to hold her off until our master arrives after he receives our signal."
Ah…
With anguished wails, the knights were being turned into dried carcasses. Their deaths looked horrible.
"Hehe! Hehe.. .those who are here today, don't even think you can escape!" An old witch held up her black magic staff as she cried out hysterically.
Her looks were completely different from the blonde-haired, cute, bright but prideful and fussing-over-the-most-trivial-matter Brianna that Grimm used to know.
Badum!
A tumor at the back of the witch's head pulsated violently.

Chapter end

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