Chapter 126: The Trap Beneath the Moonlight

Chapter 126. The Trap Beneath the Moonlight

For the next several hours, Theo and I chased shadows. Not literally, of course. Although considering the ridiculous number of suspicious locations scattered across Lumenford, I was beginning to think chasing actual shadows would have been considerably more sense.

We started with the caves along the western cliffs. The abandoned watchtowers. Then the ruins of an old coastal fort, several forgotten storage buildings, and a secluded stretch of beach that apparently used to serve as a smuggling route.

Fortunately, flying made traveling between locations considerably easier. With Voidwind Manipulation, I could cross distances that would normally require half an hour of walking in less than a minute.

Unfortunately, Theo didn’t share my enthusiasm. The first few flights had left him pale enough to qualify as a ghost. By the fifth, however, he’d stopped screaming whenever we left the ground.

We encountered Chief Marr or his guards throughout the investigation. Lord Veymont had also dispatched his own men to search the more remote locations, and we occasionally crossed paths with them along the coastal roads. Whenever we met, I questioned them about their findings. Anything that might indicate someone had been preparing a forbidden ritual.

Unfortunately, their answers were remarkably consistent. Nothing.

However, the guards’ lack of discoveries didn’t mean the locations were clean. Quite the opposite. Every time we arrived somewhere suspicious, I activated Abyssal Hunter’s Domain and examined the surrounding mana. And every single time, I discovered something. Traces of magic. Dark magic, to be precise.

Some were so faint that ordinary magicians would probably mistake them for remnants of ancient battles. Others were considerably fresher, lingering around cracked walls, cave entrances, and weathered stones.

But the most disturbing discoveries were the formations. Or rather, fragments of them. All bearing similarities to the reincarnation formation I’d recognized earlier. Some carvings appeared to be several months old, their edges softened by weather and erosion. Others were fresh enough that I could still distinguish the uneven marks left by whatever instrument had scratched them.

Either way, one thing became increasingly obvious. This wasn’t a spontaneous kidnapping scheme. Someone had been preparing for a very long time. Yet despite examining every suspicious location, I found no evidence that the victims were being held there.

By late afternoon, Chief Marr had ordered guards stationed at every location where we’d discovered suspicious formations. It was a reasonable precaution. If the culprit intended to use one of those sites tonight, the guards could raise an alarm. Of course, there was one rather irritating problem. There were too many locations.

I stood near the edge of a coastal cliff, gazing toward Lumenford’s harbor while the wind tugged at my cloak.

Below, fishing boats returned from the open sea, their sails glowing orange beneath the sinking sun. Larger merchant vessels remained anchored farther offshore, their silhouettes dark against the shimmering water. The town itself looked almost painfully beautiful.

The sun slowly descended toward the horizon. The sky shifted from gold to crimson. Dusk was approaching.

I clicked my tongue. Something was wrong. I knew it.

It was that familiar irritation I experienced whenever a research problem contained an inconsistency I hadn’t yet identified. All the information was there. And yet... Something didn’t fit. I could sense the mistake. I just couldn’t find it. Which was absolutely infuriating.

"Take a rest, Sir Valen." Chief Marr’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

I turned toward him.

The man stood a few steps away, his armor dusty from the afternoon’s investigation. Several guards waited behind him, looking equally exhausted. "You’ve done a great deal today," he continued. "Without you, we wouldn’t even have realized there were magical formations carved all over these places."

I glanced toward the ruined watchtower behind us.

The guards had already established a small perimeter around it.

"We’ll keep these locations guarded throughout the night," Marr assured me. "If anything happens, we’ll send a signal immediately."

I nodded. That was reasonable. Unfortunately, reasonable didn’t necessarily mean sufficient. If the culprit was powerful enough to perform the ritual correctly, ordinary guards wouldn’t stand much chance of stopping it.

"Sir Valen?"

I turned toward Theo.

He was standing beside me, looking tired but considerably more composed than he had earlier. At least his complexion had returned to normal.

"Let’s look somewhere else," I said.

He blinked. "Somewhere else? But we’ve already checked almost every location on the map."

"Almost." I smiled faintly. "That’s the annoying word, Theo."

Before he could argue, I activated my magic.

[Voidwind Manipulation]

A current of wind curled around us, lifting our bodies above the cliff. Theo instinctively grabbed my sleeve. We rose into the evening sky and headed back toward Lumenford.

As we approached the town, I activated Abyssal Hunter’s Domain once more, allowing my perception to sweep across the buildings and streets beneath us. Thousands of ordinary life signatures. The familiar glow of enchanted lamps. Nothing that immediately distinguished itself as our missing ritual.

I withdrew the skill.

We descended near the eastern market. But instead of returning to the administrative building, I decided to walk. I needed to think. And strangely enough, walking sometimes helped me organize complicated information better than sitting in a quiet room.

Night had transformed Lumenford into an entirely different town. If the daytime streets were beautiful, the nighttime streets were practically magical. Enchanted lamps illuminated every corner.

Crystal lanterns shaped like flowers hung beneath balconies, their petals glowing in soft shades of pink and gold. Butterfly-shaped lights floated above shop entrances, while long strings of tiny blue crystals stretched between buildings like captured stars. Even the bridges shimmered beneath decorative chandeliers.

Now I understood why Lumenford was famous for its enchanted lamps.

Theo and I walked side by side through the bustling market. We’d already eaten dinner at a small roadside establishment, though neither of us had particularly enjoyed the meal.

My mind had been elsewhere. Still was, actually. In my hand was a caramel candy on a stick. An old-fashioned lollipop. I’d purchased it from a nearby sweets vendor after deciding my brain deserved compensation for its continued suffering.

Sugar. The sacred fuel of overworked researchers.

I slipped the candy into my mouth. Meanwhile, Theo kept glancing toward the enchanted lamps decorating the street. His expression had grown distant. I watched him for a moment. "Missing your beloved childhood friend?"

He nearly stumbled. "M-my lord!"

I chuckled. "What? Am I wrong?"

Theo lowered his gaze. For several seconds, he said nothing. Then he sighed. "Yeah."

An honest answer.

"I really hope she’s safe," he admitted quietly. "I mean... I know she’s supposed to marry someone else. And I know she probably won’t ever remember me the way I remember her." His voice trembled slightly. "But... I really want her to be saved."

I glanced at him. There was no jealousy in his expression this time. Just worry. A man willing to love someone without expecting anything in return. What a ridiculous creature. And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to mock him.

"I hope so too," I said.

Theo looked at me.

I took another bite of my candy. "But for now, the only thing we can do is wait." The words tasted considerably more bitter than the caramel. I hated waiting. Especially when I knew something terrible might happen.

I looked toward the sky. Above Lumenford’s glowing rooftops, the full moon had begun rising. The deadline was approaching. My fingers tightened around the candy stick. Somewhere, a clock began chiming.

The sound drifted through the market, mingling with the laughter of passing couples and the distant music of street performers.

I slowly pulled the candy from my mouth.

Then... a monstrous roar tore through the night.

People froze. Theo whipped his head toward the sound. And before either of us could move, a brilliant streak of red fire shot into the sky above the administrative district. A signal flare.

I recognized its location immediately.

The training ground.

Wait a damn minute... I’d thought that place was just a decoy. Had I miscalculated?

"Let’s go!"

I grabbed Theo’s shoulder and activated Voidwind Manipulation, sending us soaring above the rooftops. Within moments, we descended into the administrative courtyard, where Lord Veymont and several guards had already gathered.

A monstrous creature stood in the center of the training ground, surrounded by the twelve standing stones. It resembled a grotesque fusion of a wolf and a skeletal bear, standing nearly four meters tall on four massive, muscular limbs. Patches of rotten black fur clung to its body, while jagged bones protruded from its spine like broken spears. Its elongated jaws were filled with uneven fangs, and thick, black saliva dripped from its mouth, sizzling whenever it touched the ground.

Four crimson eyes glowed beneath its deformed skull, while dark purple veins pulsed across its exposed flesh. Every breath released a cloud of foul, corrupted mist.

[Name: Abyssal Gravefang]

[Rank: B]

[Status: Corrupted]

[Condition: Highly Aggressive]

My gaze shifted toward an unconscious servant lying near the courtyard.

[Abyssal Eye]

Dark energy clung to his body. Manipulation magic. Someone had controlled him. Beside his hand lay a shattered summoning crystal, its remaining mana already dissipating. So that was how the monster had appeared.

My eyes moved toward the guards gathering around the creature. Then toward the moon.

Oh, you clever little shit.

"It’s a decoy..." I murmured. And he’d just brought everyone straight to it.