Surviving As A Cannon Fodder

Chapter 157

Years ago when my hunt for Angelica led me to Vocatus, I had lost track of her trail at the very early stages of the pursuit.

As clever as she was, Angelica had erased her footprints that led me to the city, leaving not as much as a scent to follow. Even though the Dark Wolfs left no stones unturned there were no traces of her ever leaving the city. 

*THUD*

I punched the wall unable to contain my frustration, as the Knights took away the peddler to hand over to the tower guards. If only, Angelica had not abandoned taking the fake identities, I would have found her by now. 

It felt as if I was left blinded in the middle of the ocean. Still, my resolve to find Angelica was stronger than ever.

As a part of the mission, I decided to take care of all the entities that threatened her. Starting from those who tried to harm her to the people who sent them. One among them being the organization that sent assassins to kill her in the Frost estate.

The Third Eye organization which had its origin as a simple information guild had turned over in the years to become one of the most feared assassination guilds of the underworld. While the organization was spread across the continent, the headquarters just so happened to be in Vocatus.

It was the perfect place to vent a defeat.

However, by the time I reached the Third Eye Headquarters, it was already filled with blood leaving behind one man standing.

Among the many predictions that Angelica made the night she disappeared, there was only one prognosis that involved my past more than the future.

"Don't do anything that involves the Third Eye organization, they are not your enemy. The leader of that group is none other than your long-lost best friend. I don't remember his name by the way"

There was only one person who could fit into those descriptions, someone who I knew back when I was under the guidance of Tozier.

A young peasant boy, who was training under Chief Tozier. He was a talented pupil among the many children Tozier acquainted with a fascination towards magic. We were sparring partners until he disappeared one day under mysterious circumstances.

A few days later, it was found that he was killed by a sudden goblin attack in the forest between the borders.

That boy was Jack the newly inaugured master of the Third Eye Organisation. The search for one person assumed to be dead had inadvertently led to the discovery of another. More surprisingly, of who he really was.

Now, Jack was investigating the disappearance of Saintess Oralia under my orders as the master of the Third Eye Organisation. 

Since I was inside the guild there was no need to hide my true form. Therefore, I deactivated the glamor magic that concealed my appearance. I had sent Ezra out on an errand leaving only the two of us in the hidden room inside the bookstore.

We were in the middle of a breakthrough in the investigation when our conversation was cut short by the arrival of an unexpected visitor.

"The clerk doesn't know her identity. He simply brought her in because she had this with her..." Jack held out a blue tassel that had the Third Eye insignia and shook his head in disapproval.

"Leaving behind obvious evidence of the guild's identity. Not our finest moment"

Angelica was seated, looking around the room she was waiting in. She was alone. The last we saw each other minutes ago, she was accompanied by the fox beastmen of her mercenary companions.