Just watching the man fly out and crash into the lamppost made Aidan wince inexplicably. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel•fire.net
However, his sympathy was not aroused by the man's plight. The cane was still firmly gripped in his hand, and with a quick glance at the silver blade at its tip, Aidan confirmed his suspicions.
A modified cane with a hidden blade, to put it bluntly it was nothing more than a hollowed-out cane repurposed to conceal a spring-loaded knife, a common self-defense gadget among gangsters and thugs, apart from firearms.
The glint of silver that had flashed at the end of the man's cane alerted all three present.
honestly, even without Rebecca and Veronica intervening, Aidan could have handled this kind of ambush. While he might not match up to his predecessor, a former superior inquisitor known for his swordsmanship, Aidan's inherited skill still labeled him as a proficient swordsman.
Aidan couldn't immediately discern whether this was the work of a vengeful enemy or merely a hothead with a concealed weapon. Despite the blow, the man's hat remained firmly in place on his head. Aidan squinted, attempting to catch a glimpse of the face beneath the hat's brim when the mysterious man suddenly rolled back to his feet.
Aidan couldn't help but be surprised. Withstanding two powerful kicks that could send an adult into the air, one would expect broken ribs at the very least. Yet, this man not only rose to his feet but did so without a sound. Was his body made of iron?
Not only that, but this individual, having just taken a heavy blow, didn't even groan in pain.
Veronica was taken aback; the man's arm felt as solid as a block of wood, and despite having seemingly broken his wrist with her exceptional strength, he still held onto the cane, which was virtually impossible under normal circumstances.
The man attempted to retaliate with his other hand, but Rebecca reached out and took Aidan's staff, saying, "I'll borrow this for a moment!"
Aiden hesitated for a moment before releasing the staff to Rebecca.
Rebecca grasped the staff, repositioned her hand to the end, and charged aggressively towards the man, swinging the staff with full force aimed directly at his chin.
Aiden's staff is an auxiliary prop typically used for casting black magic by the Inquisition. It was notably heavy, and very suitable for smashing an opponent's head like a melon—Rebecca's swing seemed directed at shattering his chin.
With a resounding crack, the man's chin shattered like glass, with a spiderweb of cracks spreading across half his face, yet not a drop of blood was shed.
Beneath the brim of his hat, the man's face remained expressionless, devoid of any sound.
"A wax figure?" Aiden noticed that the man's face appeared to be made of wax.
Rebecca, quick to react, delivered another forceful blow, swinging the staff in an arc that struck the man's temple this time.
The man's head flew off this time, along with the hat still attached to it, while the body continued to struggle, attempting to free itself from Veronica's arm lock.
"It's a puppet driven by dark magic!" Rebecca shouted. "Destroy it!"
Veronica immediately executed a vicious shoulder throw, hurling the figure to the ground, causing the arm to snap off at the shoulder, and was pulled out from the sleeve by Veronica.
Indeed, as Rebecca had said, it was a puppet arm made of solid wood with spherical joints, covered by a glove that was affixed, along with the staff, to the puppet's hand.
The puppet, now headless and missing its right hand, still tried to rise, after confirming it was not human—nor a living being. Without hesitation, Veronica grabbed the puppet's remaining arm, twisted it at the joint towards the knee, then executed a swift spin, slamming the puppet hard against an iron lamppost. With a loud crack, the puppet's leg also broke.
Veronica who possess a strength comparable to a large wild beast, dismantled the puppet with ease, leaving it powerless to retaliate.
The puppet's remains lay motionless on the ground, its movements reduced to feeble attempts to roll back and forth.
Veronica turned to Aidan, asking, "Chief, are you alright?"
Rebecca also looked at him with unusual concern.
"I'm perfectly fine..." Was Aiden only reply.
What danger could there be in watching others fight from the sidelines? Why not show concern for each other who's in battle?
The two female comrades' combat skills were so adept that Aiden never had a chance to intervene.
"What in the world is this?" Veronica shifted her gaze to the scattered puppet fragments, then picked up the staff that still connected to the puppet's right hand for examination. "There's a strange scent on this blade.".
"Poisoned?" Rebecca frowned. "This puppet is an automaton carved with runes on the doll, enabling it to move on its own. This is a form of dark magic recorded long time ago, but..."
"It has been lost to time," Aiden continued, as his knowledge database also contained information on such dark magic.
Occasionally, some lost forms of dark magic resurfaced in this era, but reviving them was a complex task, requiring expertise only found in specialized researchers such as dark mages or witches.
"It came for me," Aiden sighed involuntarily.
The assassination he had long feared had come unexpectedly swiftly.
A golem relied on instructions from its creator to act. This one had appeared outside the prison and attacked upon sighting Aiden, undoubtedly following its creator's orders.
Fortunately, this road outside the prison was rarely traversed by pedestrians, and now, not a soul was in sight, sparing bystanders from harm...
However, this also meant that the golem's controller was not nearby.
"Do you have any leads?" Rebecca turned to Aiden.
"Could this be... the witch Priscilla mentioned?" Veronica realized, recalling Aiden's conversation with Priscilla, who also had been present that time.
"Help me survey the area. I'll call for assistance to secure the scene," Aiden quickly regained his composure. "We need to inform the bureau to send investigators for this case."
Incidents involving dark magic had to be reported to the Inquisition.
Upon hearing this, Rebecca could only bury the plans for their scheduled meal deep in her heart - with such a disruptive incident unfolding, their planned dinner gathering would undoubtedly have to be canceled.
"Understood," she replied, clenching her fists quietly.