The Magician of Miracles

The crow Nok flew until it reached the window of one of the shops, then shattered the glass with its wing and entered inside. Inside, the masked woman with the black mask was standing amid the corpses of the Claw men who had been guarding the place.

Nok landed on her shoulder and began staring at the place. On the floor there was a large circle drawn in blood, with a smaller circle inside it, and between them a huge triangle whose symbols were distributed at the corners. The masked woman had just finished off the last guard, then turned toward the circle and afterward looked at the crow perched on her shoulder. A conversation took place between them without either of them opening their mouth:

The crow said:

"How did you discover the location of this spell?"

She answered:

"I heard the blond man and that coward talking about it."

"I knew that wretched servant was a traitor."

She shook her head:

"Not exactly. The coward actually tried to make the blond one warn Jevan."

Nok looked at the blood drawn circle on the floor and asked:

"And what is the function of this spell?"

She passed her fingers over the lines of the circle:

"It's a sacrifice spell. If they have a system piece carrying the Sorceress's Authority, it can be activated through as many human sacrifices as possible. When activated, it weakens the authority powers and system pieces far from the Sorceress's Authority, and in return grants the power of the sacrificed souls to a bearer of an Authority similar to the Sorceress's, temporarily."

"How could these thugs know about something like this?"

"I don't know."

At that moment, Morc appeared out of nowhere behind her. She sensed his presence and quickly turned around, but he raised both his hands in the air while his annoying smile didn't leave his face:

"I didn't come to fight."

Nok said in a deep voice:

"You think we're fools?"

Morc replied with the same smile:

"I'll be honest, I came to activate the magic circle. But after seeing you two here, I changed my mind."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I know very well when the opponent is much stronger than me. I have no chance of winning."

Nok chuckled:

"Yes, you're right…"

The masked woman jabbed him hard on the wing, so he placed his wing on his beak and cleared his throat, then continued:

"If you know we're much stronger than you, why did you start the fight in the first place?"

"I was relying on this circle, and on the fact that you wouldn't be able to use your full power here."

"And why do you think that?"

"You don't want to draw the attention of the Investigation Office, do you?"

"It seems you know a lot. But why are you still standing in front of us instead of running? Did you come to boast about your knowledge?"

"No, I came to make a deal."

"A deal?"

"Yes. We withdraw from here quietly in exchange for you handing over the shop owner to me, as well as releasing that man who sold his soul to you."

"You're asking for a lot. What's the price you're offering?"

Morc raised his hand, and a small wooden staff appeared, covered in overlapping circles and triangles glowing red.

He waved it and said:

"I'll give you this. I'm sure you know its value very well."

...

Meanwhile, Jevan kicked the short man hard, then charged toward a group of Claw men. Their faces widened in shock as they tried to flee. The short man fired a barrage of claws at Jevan, but Jevan dodged them and snatched a sword from one of the scabbards. When he grabbed the sword, he noticed Vensen standing there as well, but he had no time to think. He ran at the short man, who lunged at him too. Jevan jumped to avoid the collision, letting the short man crash into his own ranks.

Jevan tried to exploit that moment to stab him, but the sudden headache striking his head prevented him from focusing. The pain was sharper than any previous time. The short man regained his balance and pounced on Jevan, who tried to retreat, but the headache dulled his senses. The claws pierced his chest, and blood sprayed through the air under the sunlight.

Vensen, who had been watching from among the Claw men, lost control of himself when he saw the scene. He dashed forward and drove his sword into the short man's chest with all his strength. Only a few seconds passed before the short man collapsed to the ground. Vensen pulled his bloodied hand from Jevan's body, then turned to him. Jevan was coughing violently. Vensen was about to cry, but Jevan turned his head away and stood up from the ground, dusting off his clothes.

After that Jevan looked at the body lying on the ground, then at Vensen, and said:

"Why didn't you do that from the start?"

Vensen's eyes widened in confusion as he stared at Jevan:

"Huh?"

Jevan raised an eyebrow with a side smile while wiping the blood off his hand:

"Why didn't you stab him when I jumped and made him collide near you? That was the point of my move."

Vensen grew more flustered, still staring at the hole in Jevan's chest:

"How… how are you still alive?"

Jevan lowered his head, then looked at his chest where the massive wound was bleeding and said cheerfully:

"You think such a simple wound could kill me?"

Vensen couldn't answer, his eyes fixed on the hole. Jevan gestured to him with his hand, running his other through his hair:

"Can I borrow your sword?"

Vensen didn't reply. Jevan bent down and pulled the sword from the dead short man's chest and said:

"I'll take that as a yes."

As soon as Jevan drew the sword, the short man's body began to glow with a strange light until it was about to explode. Jevan shoved Vensen away and took the blast with his own body. When the explosion's effect faded, he was still standing in place, his skin cracked and smoke rising from him.

The Claw men who had witnessed the scene trembled, their eyes widened as if they were seeing a monster. Jevan advanced toward them and waved his bloodied sword, and with his Law Authority deactivated they all backed off and fled from the place, none daring to face him.

Jevan ran toward Corvin when he saw him dodging the giant man's savage strikes, brandishing his sword and creating black mist at every swing of the giant's attacks to obscure his vision so he could dodge them, but over time his vision grew more and more faint. His eyes were barely distinguishing what was in front of him.

One of the giant's blows nearly took Corvin's head off, but Jevan raised his hand and muttered quickly:

"Any man without a sword near Corvin is not allowed to move."

Transparent chains shot from Jevan's glove and wrapped around the giant's body, binding him in place. The giant tried to resist but in vain. Jevan's hand pressed on his temple from the intensity of the headache pounding his head. He signaled to Corvin quickly to finish it.

Corvin gathered all his strength and struck the giant's neck. The sword pierced the thick skin of the giant's neck with difficulty until the head separated and fell to the ground. The massive body began to swell rapidly. The two realized what was about to happen next, and they ran away before the body exploded in a single moment.

Jevan and Corvin fell to the ground, then quickly sat upright. They both looked at the shattered street and the ruined buildings around them. Jevan gave a faint smile, then let out a short laugh. Corvin stared at him in confusion, but Jevan didn't turn, instead saying in a tone filled with amusement:

"You know? This time it actually felt like I was going to die."