Time flew by, and soon a day had passed. After a full day of sailing at full speed, the Church fleet carrying the passengers of the shining white pearl finally saw land after a long time, arriving at Varna Port.
At noon, the refugees on the deck could already see the coastal city on the distant horizon. Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the fleet gradually began to approach the port. The normal shipping operations at the port had stopped, clearing the most berths for the fleet to dock.
Varna is a medium-sized coastal city located in the southern region of Casatia. Although the port is not large, it is sufficient to accommodate the Church fleet for docking and disembarking passengers. Under orderly command, the Church ships docked one after another. After the gangways were connected, the passengers on the ships walked down the gangways.
Having experienced the terrifying shipwreck process and stayed in the poor conditions of the Church fleet's decks and corridors for a day, the refugee passengers on the ships were all looking forward to the moment of disembarking. Most of them couldn't help but show joyful smiles after walking down the gangway and stepping onto solid ground.
Although their wonderful journey had been ruined by the ship accident, everyone felt lucky to have survived in the end. After disembarking, the original passengers of the shining white pearl left the port one after another and walked towards the City. Now they needed to decide their next steps: whether to find a way to continue their journey to Iweig, go back home, or stay locally to wait for the shipping company's investigation team and claim compensation from them.
Regardless, the lively port was filled with the joy of surviving a disaster. And somewhere within this joyful atmosphere, a few gloomy gazes were hidden.
In a corner of the port, a man wearing a dark trench coat and a hat was hiding. His eyes, hidden under the lowered brim of his hat, were fixed on the many passengers disembarking from the ships not far away. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that this man was none other than Massimo in disguise.
In the shadows, Massimo stared intently at the bustling crowd on the dock, his nose twitching slightly. He was distinguishing the scent of the crowd before him.
Shortly after the ships docked, Massimo was among the first to disembark. Since then, he had been conducting covert surveillance here, monitoring everyone who came down from the ships. He wanted to use scent to find the trace of the Thief hidden among the many passengers.
Since the Church fleet had many ships, the passengers who came down from the shining white pearl were assigned to different ships. Therefore, Thief K was likely not on the same ship as Massimo and Mr. Costa. In this situation, even if they used the Finding Breath Seal, they might not be able to find Thief K. Thus, Massimo and Mr. Costa needed to wait for a time when passengers from several ships gathered together to use the Finding Breath Seal to search. This time was when they arrived at the port and disembarked.
At this moment, Massimo was guarding a key entrance and exit of the dock, watching the disembarking passengers pass before him and carefully distinguishing their scents.
At this very moment, in another location, Mr. Costa was coordinating with Church members by the port to conduct some counting of passengers and crew members. Every disembarking passenger needed to register their cabin number with him for a simple check to confirm if anyone was missing. Such follow-up work was his duty as the Captain of the shining white pearl. At the same time, he could use this opportunity to get closer to every disembarking passenger and distinguish their scent.
Thus, openly and covertly, Mr. Costa and Massimo conducted an all-around scent analysis of the disembarking passengers. They had already memorized the unfamiliar scent on that button, and now they were just waiting for that scent to reappear among this group of passengers.
'Hurry up, hurry up and appear, that scent... the scent on that button...'
Pacing back and forth between several registration desks, while scrutinizing the disembarking passengers, he muttered in his heart. The scent on that button was the key for them to reverse their passive situation, their only hope of regaining the deep blue heart.
Minutes passed, and more and more disembarking passengers left the dock after registering. However, up until now, Massimo and Mr. Costa had not distinguished any trace of the scent from that button. As the number of passengers still on the ships decreased, anxiety couldn't help but arise in their hearts. They were anxious about why the Thief carrying the deep blue heart had not yet appeared?
The busy registration work continued. The original crew members of the shining white pearl and some priests were registering the information of the disembarking passengers one by one at the temporarily set up workstations. Some Holy Rite Knights members led soldiers to maintain order at the scene. Some Sisters brought brewed tea down from the ship and placed it on the desks of the registration personnel.
"You've worked hard. Please have some tea."
"Oh, thank you."
A Sister in white robes who was helping at the scene smiled and placed the tea next to the registration clerk. After the other party thanked her, she left with satisfaction. On her way back, she passed behind Mr. Costa, who was pacing nearby. At this moment, a tiny flying insect unintentionally flew out of her sleeve. Without anyone noticing, the insect flew to Mr. Costa, who was directing the work, crawled onto his clothes, and burrowed into his pocket. The Sister then walked away as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, in another corner of the port, a similar flying insect also flew out of the darkness towards Massimo, who was observing. After approaching him from behind, it landed on Massimo's hat.
No one at the scene noticed this tiny anomaly. The busy registration work continued. After a long time, the passengers on the ships finally all registered and left. But until the last passenger left, Massimo and Mr. Costa were unable to smell anyone with the appropriate scent.
After witnessing the departure of the last person, Massimo and Mr. Costa froze in place, their eyes fixed. Their rigid gazes could not convey the turmoil churning within their hearts.
"Are there... any passengers left on the ship?"
"There are none left. Thank you for your help today, Mr. Costa. The work is completely finished."
The priest beside him responded with a smile to Mr. Costa. Listening to the priest's response, Mr. Costa was stunned for a moment. While calming the turmoil in his heart, his eyes began to tremble slightly.
'There are no passengers left... but that guy hasn't appeared. Could it be that he noticed something and has a way to deal with it? Is he still hiding on the ship... waiting for us to leave before planning to leave? Or has he already left by other means!'
Mr. Costa thought this in his heart, and Massimo in the shadows not far away was also filled with surprise and confusion.
Just then, in his pocket, and on Massimo's hat, a fierce energy flowed through the two flying insects that had been hidden. Their abdomens suddenly split open, and from within, a small cloud of dark red mist burst forth, then diffused into the air.
The dark red substance, produced by the Eight-Pointed Nest and possessing the Spirituality of both "Cup" and "Shadow", merged into the air around Mr. Costa and Massimo. Besides bringing a slight pungent smell, its obvious "Cup" Spirituality was quickly perceived by the Extraordinaries at the scene who had "Cup" spiritual perception.
Upon sensing this Spirituality, Mr. Costa's eyes widened, and his face began to twist slightly uncontrollably. He looked at his pocket in disbelief, at the faint dark red mist slowly overflowing, his expression more miserable than if he had eaten feces.
"This is from that night..."
After a great deal of effort to calm his expression, Mr. Costa adjusted his tie with a slightly trembling hand, then spoke to the priest beside him.
"Ah... since the registration is finished, I'll go back to rest now. May the Holy Mother always bless you all."
As he spoke, Mr. Costa intended to leave. Just then, behind him, a familiar voice rang out.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave, Mr. Costa. You've been busy all day, why not stay and have dinner with us?"
At this moment, behind Mr. Costa, by the railing of the front deck of a tall cruiser, Jode, a Holy Rite Knights officer in uniform, was standing there, his hands clasped behind his back, staring at Mr. Costa with a solemn gaze. Beside him were three other male officers in Captains' uniforms. They were currently staring at Mr. Costa below with serious expressions, along with Jode.
In their eyes, on the edge of their pupils, a faint circle of orange light appeared.
"By the way, we have plenty of dinner seats. Mr. Costa can invite more friends to join, for example, that one over there." As he spoke, Jode turned his gaze to the distant corner, staring at the surprised Massimo in the shadows there. Massimo was so startled by the glance that he almost fell to the ground.
Facing this situation, Mr. Costa couldn't help but clench his teeth and fists.
"Thief... K..."
Amidst his gritted teeth hissing, Mr. Costa's Extraordinary ability began to activate. The seawater by the dock began to churn with unusual waves. The Sisters and priests nearby, after a moment of surprise, quickly moved away from him. On the deck, the several Knights officers also showed obvious spiritual fluctuations. Two of them directly drew the swords from their waists.
Soon after, a huge noise erupted in the originally calm and peaceful Navaja port.
...
Afternoon, outside Navaja.
On a rocky coast far from the City of Navaja, the waves of the Conquest Sea constantly battered the rugged rocks. There was no trace of anyone on the desolate rocky coast, only seabirds calling and circling in the sky.
On this deserted coast, a hand reached out from the crashing white waves and grabbed onto the rocks by the shore. Then, with a strong pull, a body was violently dragged onto the coast by this hand. It was a one-armed man. Upon closer inspection, it was Massimo!
"Hoo... hoo..."
Gasping for air, the soaking wet Massimo staggered to his feet on the rocks. He was in a complete mess, his clothes were torn in many places, his hat was nowhere to be seen, there were obvious wounds all over his body, his entire right arm was missing, and the huge wound was covered in charred flesh.
"Damn it... how... how did things turn out like this..."
Biting his teeth, Massimo clutched his severed arm and stumbled forward on the rocks. Amidst the burning pain erupting from the wounds all over his body, his steps were very unsteady, as if he could fall at any moment.
Just now, due to the inexplicably bursting spiritual mist around them, he and Mr. Costa were targeted by the group of Church personnel at the port. Under the opponent's powerful detection ability, their fragile "Shadow" shield collapsed in a short while. Mr. Costa and Massimo were thus completely exposed in front of the Church.
Knowing that they were exposed, Mr. Costa and Massimo did not choose to surrender, but resisted and fled on the spot. They simultaneously used their abilities, summoning the seawater in the port and turning it into a torrent whip to attack Jode and others, then tried to use this opportunity to escape.
However, the disparity in strength at the scene was too great. The Church fleet had four Chalks stationed at the port at that time. Besides them, there were also a bunch of priests, Sisters, and Knights soldiers around them. Under the pincer attack and suppression of multiple forces, it was impossible for them to retreat unscathed.
After a chaotic struggle, Massimo, due to his initial position being relatively far from the dock and a certain distance from all Church forces, was not immediately heavily targeted. After using some life-saving methods, he successfully escaped by jumping into the sea. But the cost was also heavy; when he finally jumped into the water, he was struck by a thrown flaming longsword, and his entire right arm was cut off.
Massimo successfully escaped, but Mr. Costa was not so lucky. His position was too close to Jode and others. Although he resisted with all his might, he was unable to escape successfully under the all-around targeting.
What is Mr. Costa's current situation? Was he killed directly or captured? Massimo did not know this. After jumping into the sea, he used his ability with all his might, controlling the water flow to swim at high speed underwater. After swimming towards the ocean for a long time, he chose to turn back and swim to a desolate coast far from Varna Port to re-land.
Stumbling onto the shore, Massimo walked on the rocky beach. At this moment, his heart was filled with resentment and confusion.
He didn't understand why he and Mr. Costa were tricked again... That Thief K... why could he always break their plans and push them step by step into despair, why did that Thief K specifically go against them.
With deep confusion, Massimo dragged his heavy body and slowly walked towards the land. Now he needed to find a place to forage and recover his strength and Spirituality. Now he needed to rest and recover his state, and then plan the next steps.
Just as Massimo had walked on the rocky beach for a while, his nose twitched slightly. At this moment, using the lingering effect of the Finding Breath Seal on his body, he smelled a very familiar scent, the scent from that button!
Smelling this scent, Massimo was slightly startled, then widened his eyes and looked in the direction the scent came from. What he saw was a young man wearing a trench coat, standing on the rocky beach in the distance. He was smiling at the miserable Massimo.
"Oh dear, look who's here. Isn't this Mr. Jeweler of the Ebergrass Church?"
"You are... Thief K?!"