Chapter 200: Sewers

Zeist Canister

Nothing noteworthy about his background.

There was no information about his mother and father. There was, however, a rumor circulating that they had died in an earthquake during one of the Runic Gate appearances. He was a baby when this happened and was found alone.

After being released from the hospital following his adoption in the Quesna Family territory, Zeist studied diligently until he reached the top 100 of his Sorcery Academy during his third year at the Gafantry Family after graduation.

He wasn’t that famous, but he still held some degree of fame, though nothing compared to the more well-known ones.

Then, he was transferred and applied for a teaching position at Viola’s Sorcery Academy. He worked very hard until he became a principal for the second-year students. He maintained this position for many years.

But it was said that he had made a bet with someone to acquire that position.

“Zeist…”

Cillian muttered the name of the second-year principal under his breath as he relaxed his back against the porch he was currently sitting on.

He was currently waiting for Aster to spot him at their meeting spot once the search for the sewers commenced.

Cillian finally decided to search for the sewers after no deaths related to it appeared in either Aster’s or Darwin’s first three probes. Even though he had only seen six probes, this made him confident that the search would be safe as long as they were careful with their actions.

What Cillian was planning was simple.

Right before the time Darwin’s group was planning to search the sewers, Cillian was planning to get one step ahead by targeting the day after.

He was planning to involve only Aster in this search, but there was now a perfect person to add after Cillian revealed that Zeist was a traitor.

Who else would Cillian try to convince other than Darwin himself?

“Hey.”

Finally, the person Cillian was currently looking for arrived, carrying nothing but himself. Well, that’s what he wanted it to appear like, as all his belongings were definitely in his spatial magic pouch.

Wearing clothes that were comfortable enough to move around in, Cillian smiled and asked,

“Are you ready?”

Aster nodded before Cillian stood up from where he was sitting and stopped a carriage from moving by extending his hand forward into the street. Cillian then paid the driver in advance while telling him their destination, which was quite far away and heavily crowded with traffic.

Cillian and Aster both entered the carriage before the two of them grabbed a pair of consumable magic scrolls that contained a spell Darwin had made for them.

Ripping them apart turned them invisible. Then, as the carriage moved toward their destination, the two remained inside while being completely unseen by the naked eyes of the civilians.

They didn’t even notice the carriage door opening as Aster did his best to be as silent as possible so that even the carriage driver wouldn’t be able to notice it.

This was a suggestion that Darwin had given him, showering them with advice based on his past experiences.

Since both of them were planning on exploring the sewers, it was better to secure an alibi that could conceal their real purpose in case there were people watching their movements.

And that’s what they did.

After the day Cillian checked the situation through his Death Flag Probe, he immediately set up the conditions with Darwin while arranging a meeting with Aster for the very next day.

It went smoothly only because Darwin didn’t confront Zeist, which would definitely have led to him crashing out on him. Of course, he wouldn’t, at least for now.

Since there was no living proof that Zeist was part of the Shepherds, in a sense, it hadn’t been proven that he was a Helping Hand.

The only proof that Cillian could provide was himself. And Darwin, who was forced to listen to his baseless theories, could only remain waiting.

And speak of the devil, Cillian and Aster looked ahead toward their designated meeting place, where two people were currently waiting for them.

One was Darwin, Cillian’s guard, while the other was Cale Hentuse from the Star Breaker, the hidden guild master of their organization.

He had taken on the guarding duty for Aster and had already arrived the day after Cillian checked Aster’s possible deaths through the probe.

“Hmm…?”

As if sensing his spell nearby, Darwin turned around and looked into the distance, where he saw Cillian and Aster undo their spell as they conjured a basic spell that disrupted the flow of mana sustaining the invisibility spell.

“You left no trace?”

“Yeah, we’re good to go.”

Nodding once, Darwin began to lead the group toward another spot that he had used and found for himself, separate from what Meister and Zeist had found for themselves. It would lead them directly underneath the sewers.

Even though Darwin still trusted Zeist, he also knew that Cillian wasn’t the type of person who blabbered the word ‘traitor’ lightly.

That’s why, unless Cillian proved something, he wouldn’t judge Zeist just yet.

Who knew if this was a trick that Cillian was trying to pull by messing with his head?

“Sir.”

“Hi.”

Cale and Cillian exchanged curt replies as Darwin silently navigated through the slums, where he had found a way to enter the sewers.

It was something only he had known at first, until they came.

Eventually, they reached their destination.

At this particular place was a rundown house that looked abandoned. Cillian had already lost count of how many abandoned houses he had seen in this new life of his, as they were the most commonly used infrastructure in the Undercity since they were the perfect places to set up an elevator.

However, this time, there was no elevator.

Darwin merely pointed at a circular metal bar as he started opening the lid before starting to go down.

“Go.”

Aster came next as he followed Darwin’s actions, going down through the same hole that would lead them to the sewers.

“Go, Cillian.”

“Yes, sir.”

Cillian was the third to come as he started going down by grabbing the metal handlebars that led below, where he caught a glimpse of Aster’s head.

The smell of the sewers swiftly entered his nose before he also started going below, and eventually, the light coming from above was blocked after Cale covered the opening and started going down as well.

One minute had passed, and they were still going down.

This was something Darwin had already informed them about.

Since Xesie was the city of bridges, its sewage system was going to be big, and it might take a few more minutes until they reached its ground floor.

And Darwin was exactly right, as the four of them landed on the sewage floor at the side, not in the middle of the water.

Then, the smell of the sewer drifted into Cillian’s nose yet again. Looking around, he saw water flowing in the middle as it carried water from all around Xesie. Cillian smiled at the situation.

‘Now this is a sewer.’

“Here…”

Darwin handed the other three masks to them to cover their identities, but mostly, they were used to cover their noses from the stench coming from below.

“Let’s go.”

Once all of them were prepared, the group began their journey.

Two chaps for today! Yippie!

I’m going to start writing hard again, though I still have a few exams in the coming days, but not as busy as before!

The release day might still get a little funky, but it’ll come back, unless I’m hit with another exam ?(??︿?)?

Happy 200!