The Deceitful One

Bishop Walls and Priest Livia attentively listened to Bryan's recount. The latter's expression slowly turned to that of astonishment. Only now did she realize that Bryan was still a Rank 3 Apprentice!

With a Transcendent criminal dead, Priest Livia wrongly assumed that Bryan too was a Transcendent. But she couldn't have been more wrong.

'To be able to kill a Transcendent as a Rank 3 Apprentice…' Priest Livia thought in incredulity.

The transition from an Apprentice to a Transcendent was a qualitative one. It was a complete change in the very essence of a person. That's why she was so shocked to realize Bryan kill a Transcendent.

Although cases of an Apprentice killing a Transcendent were not uncommon. It was mostly a group of Apprentices against an individual Transcendent. Bryan killing a Transcendent in a one-on-one fight spoke volumes about his talent and combat skills.

After listening to Bryan's report, Bishop Walls' eyebrows furrowed as he muttered, "Face full of pustules, long black nails…and illusion?"

Robert, who at some point had arrived beside the three of them replied with a nod, "He's right, Father. This Kenny Adams most likely lost control after taking the Transcendent potion and was in the process of turning into a monster."

"My guess is, he either directly became a Transcendent without becoming an Apprentice first or he only took the potion and didn't practice the Transcendent meditation technique.

Furthermore, the Kalahari Fish which is the main ingredient for the Illusion Path Transcendent potion recipe is known to feed on the inner organs of animals, mainly the liver, kidneys, and heart." Robert added.

Bishop Walls nodded, "That is most likely the case. The mental imprint brought about by the potion must have corrupted his mind, leading him to eat the organs of his victims."

Then he looked at Bryan with approval and patted his shoulder, "Either way, you did well, Bryan. If you hadn't killed him today, he might have become even more troublesome to deal with later on."

'What good is praise? Are you going to reward me or not?' Bryan thought in his heart but on the surface, he replied with a faint smile, "If it wasn't for Kenny having an unstable mental state, I might've been the one to die."

"An unstable Transcendent who has turned into a monster or is in the process of becoming one is extremely difficult to deal with. You shouldn't undermine your efforts, kid." The middle-aged man, with black hair, a black beard, and brown eyes, Robert, interjected.

'Then give me some monetary reward, dammit!' Bryan screamed inwardly. On the surface, he nodded humbly, though.

"By the way, kid. Why don't you join the Silver Owls? With your level of skills, it shouldn't be a problem." Robert asked Bryan.

Bryan looked at him in confusion and asked back, "Silver Owls? What's that?"

Robert replied with a hint of pride in his eyes, "Silver Owls is the Transcendent Division under the Church of Wisdom. We mostly deal with supernatural cases and rogue Transcendents."

Bryan's heart stirred, 'Transcendent Division? Interesting..'

He hesitated for a moment and replied, "This… I must get permission from my teacher first."

Robert already knew that Bryan was Detective Watson's student. He nodded with a faint smile, "No problem."

After chatting a bit more with Robert, Bishop Walls, and Priest Livia, Bryan bade them farewell. He then borrowed the Church's private carriage to go back to his apartment.

It was already past 11 pm and the public carriages had stopped operating by now. After getting dropped off at 7 Robinson Street, Bryan thanked the carriage driver and entered his apartment.

After locking the door behind him, Bryan haphazardly took off his torn clothes and went to the bathroom to take a warm bath. He had to remove all the dried-up blood and filth from his body before he went to sleep.

10 minutes later, Bryan exited the bathroom with a white towel tied around his waist. He walked to the wardrobe in his bedroom, took out his pajamas, and wore them.

Then he languidly fell on the bed, instantly falling asleep within moments.

…

Thursday, 12th August 1580.

22 Augustus Street.

In the study on the second floor of the villa, the early morning sunlight shone through the window, illuminating the rows of books on the bookshelves. The various items in the study and its design gave it a very scholarly vibe.

"So that's what happened..." Detective Watson who had just finished listening to Bryan's report about last night's battle nodded his head in understanding.

"That's right, teacher." Bryan replied, then he added, "But there's one thing I don't understand, how did he get the potion formula and the meditation technique for his Transcendent Path?"

"There could be many reasons for this. For example, he could have gotten it from another Transcendent or he could have found it in some ruins.

A lot of Transcendents, before their deaths would set up their inheritances in ruins or other places so that their legacy can be continued on." Detective Watson replied with a smile.

Bryan was enlightened. Then he asked, "By the way, yesterday a person named Robert asked me to join the Silver Owls. What do you think I should do, teacher?"

Detective Watson smiled and replied with encouragement, "Joining the Silver Owls will be very beneficial to your growth. You can't just study and spar with me all day. Having experience in dealing with Transcendent cases will be very helpful to you."

"All right, teacher. I'll do as you say. But I'll join them the beginning of next month. I still have some unfinished business to take care of." Bryan replied.

This unfinished business that he was referring to was naturally dealing with Jack Brown. He had almost died at his hands. So how could he let him get away with it?

Detective Watson didn't ask what this unfinished business was. He simply smiled and nodded. Then he started teaching Bryan mysticism knowledge.

After studying with Detective Watson for a couple of hours, Bryan had lunch with him and then left for the police station.

He wanted to go to the shooting range and practice his gun shooting. Bryan thought that he had improved a lot in this aspect. But after last night, he didn't think so anymore.

Only 2 out of 6 bullets had hit Kenny on the body. That too on his shoulder and left arm, whereas Bryan was actually aiming for his head.

Bryan didn't get complacent just because he managed to kill a Transcendent. He knew that if Kenny was in a rational state, the outcome would have been entirely different.

Therefore, Bryan felt the need to improve all his skills. Be it hand-to-hand combat, gun shooting, or spell casting.

In the Transcendent world, any wrong move could lead to one's death!