Yarin's POV:
Linda was indeed treating us like dogs, and I even suspected that she intentionally released Tilda and the others. Just a few hours after we caught them and before the Silver Moon Pack could be fully investigated, new information emerged.
At the location where Tilda and the others were apprehended, a note appeared, with the words written on it, "The grasslands here are truly vast, and I love nature."
Although it didn't specify the location, I still realized what she was talking about.
The large grassland, where I had participated in a school outing just a few years ago.
If the first few notes had made me angry, this one made me tense. Linda had essentially entered the territory of the Lycan pack, and along the way, she hadn't aroused any suspicion. To pass through heavily guarded checkpoints so smoothly, I could only assume she hadn't used ordinary means of travel but had likely employed some form of spatial teleportation.
But this also indicated her urgency. She hadn't hidden from us, making us exhaust ourselves searching in every direction, nor had she caused chaos in the cities. This meant her only goal was the Lycan pack - or the person she resented living here.
Another point of concern was why Linda had specifically chosen the large grassland. It was far from the city center and not a landmark attraction. Did Linda pick it by chance? Did she genuinely love nature, as she claimed, or had she taken someone else's body again, this time a werewolf's, allowing her to know how convenient the vast, quiet, sparsely populated grasslands were for hiding?
I didn't know when she had arrived or how long she had stayed in the grasslands, but during her period of hiding, she had surely been scheming.
I couldn't afford to waste a moment and immediately rushed back as fast as possible, wishing I could fly back instead of using a plane.
When I arrived home, the Lycan pack was already quietly on high alert. To avoid causing panic, the public had only noticed an increase in patrol cars on the streets, property management informing residents of curfew hours, and companies strictly prohibiting overtime.
However, even with these precautions, there was no sign of Linda or hint of unfamiliar magical energy.
The large grassland was turned upside down during my return journey, but the result was nothing except for a few worthless antiques being unearthed.
Linda seemed to have vanished from the human world. Three days had passed, and no trace of her was found.
"It feels like going on an international trip, and during the return flight, the plane encounters severe turbulence, about to crash at any moment," Heller commented on these days. "The bad thing isn't the worst part; it's the indefinite waiting when you know something bad is coming!"
Finally, on the morning of the fourth day, we received news. The Sorcery Research Association had been robbed. What was lost was a vial containing fragments of the pure white witch Anna's memories. Naturally, the prisoner within had disappeared as well.
We immediately confirmed that Linda was behind this operation. Although we didn't know why she wanted a fragment of a memory that was already on the brink of disappearing, one thing was certain – it couldn't be good.
The werewolf grandmasters attempted to follow the traces at the scene but found no magical energy. For a witch, attempting to unseal a seal without using magic was impossible, even for a supreme witch.
Aunt Dorothy had been trying to observe Linda's fate trajectory with her Eye of Insight, but something stranger happened – she couldn't see anything. Linda's fate seemed shrouded in mist; all she could perceive was complete darkness.
No sentient being in the world could escape fate, not even elemental creatures like fairies, who couldn't escape the threads of the Goddess of Fate.
Thinking about the divine essence that belonged to Azazel in Linda's hands, I said, "I think Linda has already taken even crazier actions. She has merged the divine essence with herself, making her essentially a god. Mortals cannot peer into the fate of a god."
However, a divine essence wasn't like a battery on a remote control that could be easily installed. A mortal body couldn't withstand its power. Even Mom had endured the pain of her flesh being remade to barely withstand it.
I wondered what kind of powerful body Linda had acquired to endure it. At noon, we received more bad news. The police had discovered a corpse during their patrols.
It was Sisley.
Heller was stunned when he heard about his disappearance, remaining in disbelief for quite some time. He said, "How is that possible? That guy was the best at hiding safely. Today isn't April Fools' Day; don't play this kind of joke."
But soon, people's hesitant glances forced him to accept the harsh reality.
Sisley was dead, his brain severely damaged, evidently subjected to a powerful mental attack. When an outsider's soul occupied a body, they would go to great lengths to kill the former
owner.
Heller's response to Sisley's demise seemed excessively calm. He was such a quiet and introverted person, seemingly amiable on the surface, but when it came to matters, he habitually kept them to himself, silently digesting the increasingly overwhelming negative emotions.