Chapter 24

“Even if we start poking around in here, it’ll only draw suspicion. All we need to do is stay put and watch the target’s movements—then strike only when necessary.”

Aivert spread out a map of the city.

“There are three main exits. Two of them close at exactly 6 PM.”

Right now, it was 5:49 PM.

Since Thousand Faces wasn’t the type to cause a scene just to break through a sealed gate, the answer was obvious—he’d go through the one that remained open.

With his short explanation finished, Aivert spoke again.

“Here’s how we do it.”

He pointed to a location deeper inside the city.

“To account for variables, I’ll stay here with Dame Syveric and Mage Felix.”

Felix was the name of the particularly chatty mage.

“And the rest of you, wait outside this gate.”

The gate he indicated was the most likely route Thousand Faces would use to exit the city.

“Underst—!” The knights were about to answer loudly.

Aivert raised a hand to stop them. “Quietly.”

“…stood, sir.” The knights, ever obedient, quickly hushed their reply.

* * *

Evening.

After leisurely enjoying his dinner, Thousand Faces finally began to move.

This infamous fugitive, with his absurdly expensive and bizarre tastes, dipped limited-edition cookies into fine wine as dessert before heading toward the gate—hands clasped behind his back.

Just as Rodella predicted, he headed for the only gate still open after 6 PM.

“Next.”

The city guards didn’t typically inspect people leaving the city, but in this case, they were watching departures just as closely.

[WANTED: THOUSAND FACES]

There were over seven different sketches posted due to the criminal’s ever-changing appearance, and the guards’ eyes darted furiously from person to poster, trying to catch a match.

But Thousand Faces looked utterly relaxed.

“That’s him.”

From the nearby guard post, Mage Felix whispered under his breath.

“That guy in the dark blue robe with the glasses and brown hair?”

Aivert confirmed in a quiet voice.

Felix nodded.  

“Yup! Last time we nearly caught him, he broke out of the cuffs with a mana suppressant attached. His mana flow right now matches exactly with that one.”

No matter how many faces he changed, he couldn’t alter his inherent mana flow.  

That made it a perfect match.

“I’ll be right back.”

Aivert rose to his feet, accepting the enchanted cuffs from Felix.

“You two stay here.”

Felix nodded without protest.  

Rodella, on the other hand, wasn’t so compliant.

“Planning to smash something again?”

That face of his was definitely ready for a fight.

“The battlefield’s just nearby anyway. And—”

He looked at Rodella and pointed to the floor beneath them.

“This building is the most expensive one around.”

“…?”

Was he seriously judging what to break by price?

Did he destroy buildings in order of value?

Rodella was about to raise an eyebrow when he added: “If you’re in here, I’ll probably avoid breaking it.”

Ooh~! Felix swallowed his gasp and quickly looked away, cheeks slightly flushed.

And Rodella?

“If this works well, let’s make it standard in future operations.”

She answered with complete seriousness.

Aivert looked at her for a moment, then gave a low chuckle—and headed out.

* * *

The man known as Thousand Faces believed his plan to be flawless.

He was walking around with an unremarkable appearance and hadn’t caused any trouble in this city, so there was no reason for anyone to be chasing him.

Since his most recent transformation, he had even managed to evade the imperial search squads. Now, he was heading to a quiet spot outside the city to change his appearance once more.

After securing a new look, he planned to strike again—this time somewhere unexpected, somewhere the search squads wouldn’t anticipate.  

By the time they scrambled to the scene and conducted their tedious interviews, they’d be lucky to come away with just one outdated sketch.

His face would have already changed by then.

“Idiots,” he muttered.

He hadn’t even considered that the magic cuffs he once escaped might have left behind a trace.

And so—

“…?”

Just moments after exiting the city, an eerie chill ran down his spine. He instinctively darted aside—pure luck, really.

—KWA-BOOM!

The ground he had stood on just seconds earlier erupted violently, gouged a full meter deep and reduced to rubble.

From the cloud of dust, a man emerged. Dressed like a commoner, yes—but it was clear from his bearing that he had never known hardship.

“A knight?”

Anyone bold enough to confront him head-on had to be one.

Not someone from the Red Knights, always too busy scrambling in chaos.

“No, the Azure Knights… and with this level of power and pressure…”

The Thousand Faces narrowed his eyes.

“A Vice-Commander?”

There was no reason to answer such a guess. Aivert simply swung his sword again.

—FWOOOSH!

A wave of force ripped through the air. Trees in the distance bent nearly to the point of snapping.

The Thousand Faces barely dodged and leapt back—toward the direction of the city, hoping to vanish into the crowd.

—THUD! THUD! THUD!

But the way was blocked. Guards had already closed off the paths, and hidden Azure Knights rushed out to surround him.

“…”

The Thousand Faces sneered.

“A trap, huh.”

Wasn’t his first time being cornered.

He looked between the guards and the knights, then abruptly turned toward the city side.

“…!”

He was trying to blend in with the crowd and change his appearance again.

—FWOOOSH!

Aivert sent another blast of sword energy, but—

—TANG!

The fugitive created a quick mana shield, deflecting the attack just enough—and used the force to launch himself straight into the guard post building.

“Wait—!”

The knights froze in alarm.

That building… was where Rodella was stationed.

Aivert didn’t even have time to process the panic on his own face. His body moved before his thoughts could form.

—CRASH!

The Thousand Faces left behind only a narrow hole where he crashed through.

But Aivert?

The entire ceiling caved in under his entry.

As he barreled through the building, one thought raced in his mind:

The criminal had hit the third floor. Rodella had been on the second—but knowing her, she would have immediately moved down to the first upon hearing trouble.

Even if it meant destroying the entire upper floors, he had to catch the fugitive before he could descend.

“Oh?”

But Aivert had miscalculated one thing—

The moment Thousand Faces saw his face.

That startled expression gave everything away.

The fact that the Azure Knights’ new operations officer was also the Vice-Commander’s fiancée was already a widely known rumor, especially after several public relief missions.

And Thousand Faces?  

He remembered that rumor.

“So, the woman he cherishes is in this building?”

He always did seem fond of her.

What kind of face would he make if she was reduced to just a headless corpse?

—KWA-BOOM!

Drunk on that primal thrill, Thousand Faces drove his mana straight into the floor, blowing it open beneath him.