Dorothy’s Forbidden Grimoire
Chapter 403 : Exposure

Time passed swiftly—within a single day of full-speed sailing, the Church’s fleet carrying the passengers of the Shimmering Pearl finally reached land and arrived at the port of Navaha.

By noon, the refugees on deck could already glimpse the coastal city on the horizon. Amidst cheers and shouts, the fleet gradually approached the harbor. Normal port operations had already been suspended to clear docking space for the arriving vessels.

Navaha was a medium-sized coastal city located in the southern region of Cassatia. Though the port wasn’t particularly large, it was sufficient to handle disembarkation for the Church fleet. Under orderly direction, the ships began docking, and as the boarding ramps were secured, the passengers began to disembark.

After surviving the terrifying shipwreck and spending a day cramped on the decks and corridors of the Church fleet, the evacuees were eager to get off. As they stepped onto solid ground, most wore expressions of joy and relief.

Though their idyllic journey had been ruined by the accident, many still felt fortunate to have survived. The former passengers of the Shimmering Pearl scattered from the harbor into the city. Some were planning to resume their journey to Ivengard, some considered returning home, and others intended to remain in the area to await the shipping company’s investigation team and demand compensation.

Whatever their next step, the harbor was filled with a post-disaster sense of celebration. But hidden within that joyous atmosphere were several shadowy gazes.

In a corner of the harbor, a man in a dark coat and hat stood in concealment. His eyes, shadowed beneath the brim, locked intensely onto the passengers disembarking nearby. It was none other than Massimo, now in disguise.

Hidden in the shadows, Massimo sniffed subtly, filtering through the scents of the passing crowd.

He had left the ship as early as possible after docking and taken up this post to surveil everyone coming off the ships, hoping to use Scent-Tracking to locate Thief K hidden among the passengers.

Since the Church fleet consisted of multiple ships, the survivors from the Shimmering Pearl had been distributed among them, meaning Thief K might not have been on the same vessel as Costa and Massimo. That made their Scent-Tracking Sigil less effective unless the passengers were gathered in one location—like during disembarkation.

Massimo now stood at a key chokepoint at the dock, watching every passenger that passed, trying to find the scent from that button.

Elsewhere, Costa was at the port entrance, coordinating with Church personnel to register every disembarking individual by their cabin number. This was part of standard procedure to ensure no one was missing, and also gave Costa the opportunity to sniff each passenger up close.

One overt, one covert—together they combed through every scent, waiting for that single trace from the button to reappear.

“Come on… show up already… the scent on that button…”

Costa muttered inwardly as he paced between registration stations, scanning each face and each scent. That button was the key to reversing their situation—their only hope of reclaiming the Deep Blue Heart.

Minutes passed. More and more passengers left the harbor. But neither Costa nor Massimo had detected a trace of the scent. As the crowd dwindled, their anxiety grew. Why hadn’t the thief carrying the Deep Blue Heart shown up yet?

The registration continued. Crew from the Shimmering Pearl, along with several clerics, were processing passenger data at makeshift desks. Members of the Sacrament Knights kept order while nuns served tea to the workers.

“Thanks for your hard work—please have some tea.”

“Oh, thank you.”

A smiling white-robed nun placed a cup by one registrar’s elbow. After being thanked, she turned to leave. As she passed behind Costa, a tiny insect slipped from her sleeve, unseen by all. The bug landed on Costa’s clothing and crawled into his pocket. The nun walked off without pause.

Meanwhile, in another corner, a similar insect flew silently toward Massimo and landed on the brim of his hat.

No one noticed the subtle intrusion. Registration continued. Eventually, every last passenger had been accounted for. But even after the final person left the dock, neither Costa nor Massimo had found anyone with the matching scent.

Staring at the back of the last departing passenger, both men froze. Their eyes were blank, but inside, their thoughts churned.

“…Are there any passengers still onboard?”

“No, Mr. Costa. Thank you for your help today. The work is fully complete.”

The nearby priest replied with a smile. Hearing his response, Costa stood there dazed for a while longer. As he tried to calm the storm inside him, his pupils began to tremble ever so slightly.

“No more passengers… but that bitch still hasn’t shown up. Could he have sensed something and come up with a countermeasure? Is she still hiding aboard the ship, waiting until we clear out before hse makes his move? Or did she already escape through some other method?”

Thoughts swirled wildly in Costa’s mind. Not far away, in the shadows, Massimo was likewise filled with shock and confusion.

Just then, from within Costa’s coat pocket—and from the top of Massimo’s hat—two tiny insects that had been lying in wait began to react. A surge of intense energy coursed through their bodies. Their abdomens abruptly split open, and a small puff of dark red mist burst forth, quickly dispersing into the air.

Crafted by the Eight-Spired Nest, these substances contained both Chalice and Shadow spiritualities. As the mist mingled with the air around Costa and Massimo, it released a faint but pungent odor. The Chalice spirituality radiating from the mist was immediately detected by nearby Beyonders attuned to it.

Sensing this, Costa’s eyes went wide. His face involuntarily contorted as he stared at the faintly red mist seeping from his pocket—his expression as miserable as if he’d just swallowed dung.

“That’s… the same as that night…”

Struggling to compose himself, Costa finally forced his expression back to calm. He adjusted his tie with trembling fingers and turned to the priest beside him.

“Ah… since everything’s been accounted for, I’ll be heading back to rest now. May the Holy Mother’s grace shine upon you all.”

He was just about to step away when a familiar voice rang out behind him.

“No need to leave so soon, Captain Costa. After such a long day, won’t you stay and join us for dinner?”

There on the foredeck of the cruiser stood Jord, the commander of the Sacrament Knights. His hands were clasped behind his back as he stared solemnly down at Costa. Beside him were three other uniformed ship captains, all staring just as sternly.

In each of their eyes, a faint orange glow flickered along the edges of their irises.

“Oh, and we’ve got plenty of seats at the dinner table. Feel free to invite more friends—like that gentleman over there.”

As he spoke, Jord turned his gaze to a shadowy corner of the harbor, locking eyes with a stunned Massimo. The moment their eyes met, Massimo nearly collapsed from the shock.

Faced with this, Costa clenched his jaw and fists tightly.

“Thief… K…”

With a hateful snarl, Costa’s mystical powers ignited. The seawater at the dock began to churn unnaturally. Priests and nuns nearby recoiled in alarm and quickly backed away. On the deck above, the knight officers stirred with spirituality—two of them drew their swords at once.

Moments later, the once-calm and orderly harbor of Navaha erupted with a thunderous noise.

…

Afternoon, outskirts of Navaha.

On a rocky coastal shoreline far from the city, the waves of the Conquest Sea crashed relentlessly against jagged stone. Not a soul could be seen. Only the cries of circling seabirds filled the sky.

Suddenly, a hand emerged from the foamy surf, grasping one of the coastal rocks. With a great heave, a body was pulled ashore—a one-armed man.

It was none other than Massimo.

“Huff… huff…”

Breathing heavily, drenched head to toe, Massimo staggered to his feet atop the rocks. He looked utterly wretched. His clothes were torn in many places, his hat missing entirely, and his body covered in visible wounds. His right arm was completely gone, and where it had been, only a charred, blackened stump remained.

“Damn it… how… how did it all go so wrong…?”

Gritting his teeth, Massimo clutched his severed arm and stumbled forward along the jagged reef. The searing pain radiating from his wounds made each step unsteady—he looked like he might collapse at any moment.

Just moments ago, a strange burst of spiritual mist had erupted around them, catching the attention of the Radiance Church personnel stationed at the harbor. Under their formidable mystical detection, the fragile Shadow barrier concealing him and Costa had swiftly collapsed, fully exposing them to the Church’s eyes.

Knowing they’d been compromised, Massimo and Costa didn’t even consider surrendering. Instead, they fought back and fled on the spot. Without exchanging words, both drew upon their powers to summon the harbor waters, transforming them into whips of rushing current that lashed toward Jord and the others, attempting to seize the moment to escape.

However, the power disparity was far too great. The Church had four White Ash-rank Beyonders stationed at the harbor, along with a host of priests, nuns, and soldiers from the Sacrament Knights. Surrounded and suppressed by such overwhelming forces, escaping unscathed was a hopeless dream.

In the ensuing chaotic skirmish, Massimo had managed to get away due to his position—he’d started farther from the docks and the Church forces. This meant he wasn’t immediately targeted. After deploying a few life-saving techniques, he leapt into the sea and fled underwater, narrowly escaping death. But the cost was steep. As he dove, a blazing longsword had been hurled toward him, slicing clean through his right arm and burning it away.

Massimo survived. Costa wasn’t so lucky. He had been too close to Jord and the others. Despite fighting with all his might, he couldn’t break through the net closing in on him.

What happened to Costa now? Was he killed on the spot, or captured by them? Massimo didn’t know. After plunging into the sea, he had focused all his efforts on escape, manipulating the current beneath the waves to propel himself rapidly outward toward the open ocean. After swimming a long distance, he changed direction and returned, eventually landing on a desolate stretch of coast far from Navaha Port.

Staggering onto shore, Massimo moved across the rocky beach. His heart was a storm of resentment and confusion.

He couldn’t understand—how had they been outmaneuvered again? That damn Thief K… How was she always able to dismantle their plans, pushing them into tighter and tighter corners? Why was she so intent on opposing them?

Still steeped in these questions, Massimo dragged his battered body inland. What he needed now was somewhere to hunt, to recover his strength and spirituality. He needed rest—to regroup, then plan the next move.

But just as he trudged along the rocky coast, his nose twitched. The Scent-Tracking Sigil on his body hadn’t fully faded, and through it, he picked up a familiar trace.

The scent from that button!

Massimo froze, eyes widening. He turned sharply in the direction of the scent—and there, standing atop the distant stone-covered shore, was a young man in a windcoat, watching him with a smile.

“Well, well… look who’s shown up. Isn’t this the Conquest Sea’s very own jewel collector?”

“You’re… Thief K?!”