Kieran had returned.

Some people panicked, some growled, but most of them mocked his return in a disdainful manner.

Their proudful attitude made them unwilling to believe that Kieran had killed Wilco the Icy Killer, Gilfren Hatch the Spectre, and Frostrill the Usurper.

None of them believed it, because it seemed too absurd for anyone to achieve.

Besides, before he had become Nikorei's assistant, Kieran had been a nobody.

Truth be told, they all stubbornly thought that every powerful individual Kieran had defeated had been directly related to Nikorei herself.

With the help of the strongest shaman on the West Coast, even the five major societies' leaders themselves would be powerless, let alone Wilco, Gilfren Hatch and Frostrill.

That was why they did not care.

This was just like their encounter with Elli Jones, who was the disciple of Nikorei in name, but was actually an amateur.

Orders were being sent from all secret locations on the West Coast.

One after the other, mystical individuals started to gather around 1st Black Street.

They thought this was their best chance. The strongest shaman was currently away, so if they could get rid of her heir and assistant, the whole West Coast would be under their control.

...

Kieran got out of the taxi and looked around 1st Black Street.

It was no different than what he remembered. The garden, the iron gate and the three-storey building looked exactly the same.

The house was uniquely mysterious despite the passage of time.

The only differences were the absence of Ferad the spirit butler, who was no longer there to open the iron gate, and some traps that had sprung up around the gate.

Although they were not lethal, this showed Kieran that the situation was worse than he'd thought.

"Those scoundrels dared attack 1st Black Street?"

Kieran scanned the numerous slashes on the iron gate and the bullet holes in the garden and frowned helplessly. He could not understand what had given those scoundrels the boldness to do this.

Nikorei was not some kind, even-tempered old woman.

She was just missing. She had not been confirmed dead. Why would they start a war like this? Weren't they afraid of being skinned alive when she came back?

Unless..

"They heard news that something happened to Rei!"

Kieran suddenly shivered.

He did not even bother checking 2nd Black Street. He leapt over the iron gate, avoided dozens of traps, and reached the entrance of the building.

The big door, the iron gate, and the garden were all full of traps. The only difference was that the door trap was lethal.

From behind the door came a faint stinging smell.

Even Kieran's Basic Level [Potionology] could easily detect that the smell came from a dissolving potion solution. A solution that dissolved stones to extract the minerals inside.

This was Simones' proud work.

During their lessons on [Potionology], Kieran had heard Simones mention the dissolving solution more than once. If the solution could dissolve stones, what would happen if it was sprayed on a human body?

Nothing would be left behind. Both the bones and the flesh would be completely gone!

Kieran could not come up with any other possible outcome.

He took a detour from the front door, trying to find another way in.

He was very familiar with the place, as he had spent a lot of time studying and living at 1st Black Street.

He found a second way into the house. He entered through the second floor window in no time.

This had actually been his room the last time he had been there.

Using the [Deceiver's Key], Kieran opened the window easily and climbed through.

There were no changes compared to the last time he had been there.

Both the desk and the floor were spotless, free of any speckles of dust.

"Is it cleaned regularly?"

Kieran smirked for a while. He was delighted, because he would be meeting his friends again.

Getting even more excited, he headed downstairs to the study with casual steps.

...

The study was a mess. Nikorei's books were all over the place. On the desk, on the chairs, on the carpet. It was like a tornado had been through the room.

Amid the messy books was Elli. She was crawling all over with a dirty face and a nervous expression.

Kieran noticed that she was flipping through the books single-handedly. Her other hand was in a cast, strapped in bandages over her chest.

She was reading very fast. After reading a couple of pages of a book, she would throw it away and pick up another, as if that was not the book she was looking for.

"Damn it! Damn it! There was a book that said something about a powerful magic spell! Where is it? Where the hell is it?"

Elli was mumbling non-stop, flipping through book after book.

Simones was also present, quietly watching over the young lass with his smoking pipe in his hand. He knew Elli was doing her best, but their enemies were too cunning and vicious. They were like vermin. They could get in through every crack on the wall.

The young lass had recently been through no less than 10 battles, half of them ambushes. Elli had hurt herself during one of the ambushes in order to protect Simones, who was useless in battle.

As Simones recalled that incident, he clenched his fists hard.

"I am so damned useless! I've dragged Rei down before and now her student.. How useless can I be?" Simones blamed himself silently.

He wanted to help the young lass overcome the danger before her.

It was just that..

The potions he specialized in could not scare their enemies away. A strong feeling of helplessness bloomed and spread in Simones' heart.

He wanted to sigh, but he held himself back. He didn't want to increase Elli's burden any more.

"There has to be a way! If not by using the potions I am familiar with, then maybe by using a potion I haven't heard of.."

Simones furrowed his brow, thinking hard.

Elli was flipping through the books even faster.

A sudden explosion interrupted both their actions and thoughts.

"Those scoundrels have barged into our place!"

Simones rushed to the window and pulled the curtain back to take a look.

When he saw the iron gate being blown away and more than 30 thugs in black gather in front of it, his face turned extremely sour.

He could tell that the thugs were not there to probe. They were ready to launch a real attack.

"Then I will fight to my death!"

Elli stood up from the middle of the study with a serious expression.

She looked down at the carpet, which was full of books, glanced over at the red-and-green intertwined lines, and finally looked at the picture of a deer that was sewn there in white.

This was the self-defense method her teacher had left her. Nikorei had warned her not to use it unless she really had to, because it could only be used once.

"Now is the time!" Elli said slowly after taking a deep breath.

"Of course not!" a voice suddenly interrupted her.

Dess Dess

Anyone wonder how tall was Elli? Do leave a comment lol