Fire Mage (Web Novel)
chapter-271

Chapter 271: Encounter

He arrived next to the compound gate within seconds, jumped to the other side without alerting the guards, and went to the servants' quarters.

He soon arrived in front of the wooden door, unlocked it casually using the [Sleight of Mystery Hand] skill, and entered.

He then looked at the two corridors for a moment, chose the right side one, and soon arrived in front of a particular wooden door.

Like before, he used his sub-class skill, unlocked the door, and entered stealthily.

Inside, a black-haired man lay on a mat and seemed to be in a deep sleep.

Charles used [Arcane Eyes] skill and looked into his status.

'Hmm? Damian Foster? Moreover, his race also changed to a 'Half-Devil'?' Charles's eyes widened.

'But his physical attributes are similar to that of a normal human.' He also saw the word 'clone' next to the health status and concluded.

'Except for his name, race, and clone status, everything appears as normal.' He narrowed his eyes for a moment and tried to cast [Fire Seed] spell on him.

Unfortunately, Charles's attempt went futile.

'Hmm, it's understandable.' He nodded inwardly and tried to cast [Burning Thoughts] spell.

But even that attempt went futile, causing him to raise his eyebrows in suspicion.

Unlike [Fire Seed] and other mind-fire spells, [Burning Thoughts] spell acts on one's consciousness.

As long as one's consciousness was within the body, it would directly enter the dark space and burn their current thinking.

'But why is it not working? Wait…' He closed his eyes and used his wisdom power to scan the body.

The next instant, confusion appeared on his face.

'There is no consciousness in the body.'

He thought for a moment before taking out a long sword, unsheathed it, aimed at the clone's head, and slashed it.

A moment later, a clean-cut appeared on the neck area and cleaved his head from the body!

'I wonder if the other clones would go on an alert mode because of this clone's death… But there is no consciousness in this clone.' He sheathed the long sword and soon thought of checking it out.

He didn't delay any longer before enveloping himself with a crimson flame and disappeared from there.

Then, he again appeared on the street road, moved towards the next target, and soon entered another noble's servants' quarters.

To his astonishment, he noticed that the other clone was also sleeping like nothing abnormal had happened!

'I have a guess. These clones might directly lead us to Omen's main body.' The Holm's Crown suddenly spoke.

'I'm listening.' Charles silently stared at the clone's face and waited for the artifact's answer.

'Let's take incarnation as an example. Although incarnations can be used to do scouting missions, it consumes too much mental energy for us to create a single one. Even if you create a perfect incarnation, it can only stay in the outside world for a particular amount of time like a month or two. After that, you have to take the incarnation's consciousness back into your Inner World; otherwise, you will lose it permanently. But unlike the incarnation, this clone won't disappear after you withdraw your consciousness from it. These clones are created through the user's blood and have a certain link to the user's Inner World.'

'A separate dark space?' Charles blinked his eyes in surprise.

'Yes, similar to the dark space. Then, there is a big question here. How could a single person create tens of perfect consciousnesses and maintaining them at once? In truth, creating a single clone and maintaining it would increase the mental burden to a large level. This guy is doing something that even a Pseudo-Legend Rank Mystic would find it hard to do…'

'Is it due to these clones' strange sleeping state? All of their consciousnesses would move to user's Inner World during night-time to recharge?' Charles asked.

'Yes. And, there is another thing we need to take note of. To take these consciousnesses back to his Inner World, his main body has to appear nearby. Otherwise, his consciousnesses wouldn't return to his Inner World at all.' The Holm's Crown paused for a moment and then added.

'The same goes for placing the consciousness back to the clone body. So, to place this clone's consciousness, Omen has to appear here before the dawn.'

'Finding him is so simple?' Charles's eyes widened.

'This guy is good at hiding, lad. If not for Jessie's deep analysis, it would have taken too much time. Although you have strange eyes to check one's true name, it would be impossible to search for a clue in this city filled with more than half a million of population.' The Holm's Crown responded.

Meanwhile, Charles silently left the servant's quarters and moved towards Baron Everett's mansion.

After that, he teleported to the mansion building's terrace and started monitoring the surroundings.

At that moment, the Holm's Crown suddenly noticed something was wrong about Charles's current action and asked in suspicion.

'Why are you not hiding your real intention in your Inner World? Won't it alert the 'Divine'?'

A strange smile appeared on Charles's face.

'I want to confirm few things, Mr. Runeth. First, does Omen have any fate-related skills to perceive changes in one's fate? If he didn't, the Divine would definitely send some warning as it did to Archbishop Royce, right? Second, what if the 'Divine' actually wants us to kill him and complete the mission as soon as possible? Don't you find something was odd about the previous assassinations?'

'Odd?' The Holem's Crown asked.

Meanwhile, Charles nodded his head and spoke.

'Omen had countless opportunities to assassinate Vincent and other nobles during these past few years. If he had acted, he could have gained full control over the whole kingdom. But he didn't. Instead, he chose the current moment to assassinate them…'

'It's as if he is voluntarily coming out from the shadows and showing his neck to us. I'm feeling that everything is going too smoothly. Then, there is Daisy's lucky encounter with Titus… I also feel something fishy about that encounter… Well, maybe I'm thinking too much, but I don't want to take a risk.'

Upon hearing his words, the Holm's Crown finally understood his intention.

'The 'Divine' want you to complete the mission and move on to the next step? Coronation ceremony?… If so, we must do our best to delay Rhea's coronation ceremony.'

'Yes,' Charles nodded his head and continued to monitor the surroundings.

Hours passed, and soon it was 5.20 A.M.

During the past few hours, he saw many people walked across the path, but none caught his attention.

Because of his [Arcane Eyes] skill, he didn't face any difficulty at all.

At this moment, most servants and guards had woken up from their sleep and were roaming here and there.

Some went to take a bath in the nearby Well, while the others brushed their teeth using strange sticks.

While monitoring their actions, Charles suddenly saw a man in his thirties entering the street road through a narrow alley.

Even though it was still dark outside, he saw his appearance neat and clear due to his [Dark Vision] skill.

The face of the man appeared ageless, neither old nor young. His hair was dark and long, while his eyes were grey.

He wore a greyish overcoat, a brown cape and silently walked on the street road.

'That's him! Shall we act?' The Holm's Crown asked.

On the other hand, Charles remained silent and soon shook his head.

'That's what the 'Divine' wants. Let's observe him for a while.'

Saying so, he conjured a small ball of blackish fire, reshaped it into a black feather, and placed it on his palm.

Then, he took a deep breath and blew it from the terrace.

The next instant, the black feather rose towards the sky, danced in the air, and started flying towards the street road in a zigzag manner.

Within a few seconds, the black feather fell behind Damian's back and soon attached to his overcoat.

On the other hand, Damian didn't notice anything and continued to walk on the street road.

Just as he arrived next to Baron Everett's mansion compound gate, he stopped his footsteps and turned his gaze towards the servants' quarters.

Then, he did a ritual hand sign and soon furrowed his eyebrows.

'Why can't I sense my clone?' His face turned serious.

Just when he was about to make another hand sign, one of the mansion gatekeepers noticed his presence and shouted.

"Who is it? What are you doing here?"

At that moment, a few more leather-armored guards also stood up from the other side of the mansion and looked in the direction where Damian was standing.

"Nothing, Mister. Just now, I saw a familiar face inside the mansion house. Maybe I'm thinking too much." Shaking his head, Damian adjusted the brown cape and started walking on the dirt road before the gatekeeper could say another word.

Although he was confused inside, he didn't lose his calm and continued to walk in the opposite direction.

Still, strange anxiety remained in his heart.

Just when he was about to think of his next move, the nearby mansion's gate opened all of a sudden, and soon a four-wheeled carriage drove out from it.

At that moment, a long, whirly blonde-haired young woman casually opened the carriage's red curtain and peeked outside with her bewitching scarlet eyes.

A second later, her gaze met with Damian's one!