Chapter 10: Ivan; Unlucky City
The start of every relationship or partnership should be established by cleaning the slate and making a fresh foundation.
There was already a lot of bad blood between Ricardo and Sigil.
Now, the first step for Sigil to make use of this variable is to make himself look a little favourable in front of Ricardo's eyes. If his guess was correct and Ricardo was truly someone like him that had experienced a different life or returned from future then he needed to understand more about the true personality that he developed over the course of his alternative life.
Ricardo's face held a strange expression as his mind flashed countless thoughts. But in the next moment, his expression froze.
Sigil bowed in front of all the younger generation practicing in training ground.
"I am here to apologize for my past behaviour."
Sigil's calm voice echoed in the silent training ground as all the people looked towards the young man with a shocked expression.
Was this really Sigil?!
Everyone felt strange and some of Sigil's victims even felt a strange sense of unease in their hearts.
Meanwhile, Sigil's eyes were shining as he was waiting for Ricardo's response.
This was one of the most crucial moments in determining the true nature of this enigma.
Ricardo narrowed his eyes as he felt the sincerity in Sigil's voice.
"You think it is this easy? You made my life a living hell. Go away!!" Ricardo spoke out without a change in his expression.
His words stunned the whole training ground.
What is courage?
This is!
Who has the strongest strap on?
Ricardo does!
These thoughts flashed by all the young ones in training ground, male and female alike.
Sigil, instead, smiled secretly.
'Determined, Honest and….. Righteous.'
This is Ricardo's first impression on Sigil. Of course, he would not dare to play his cards according to the first impression only. What if he was acting? What if he was planning against Sigil himself?
Sigil's gaze revealed a thoughtful expression as he saw Ricardo going away.
His back straightened once more as he walked away to meet up with Ivan. His goal in meeting Ricardo had been accomplished.
Even though he couldn't clean the slate, he inferred one thing from Ricardo's sentence.
The bad blood can be dissolved, but it wouldn't be easy!
He took a deep breath as he made his way towards the exit of the estate. Meanwhile, the news of the most arrogant young master of the family apologising to a small time member immediately became the top news.
***
"No physical confrontation took place, right?"
"Yes, Lord."
"No signs of spell either?"
"No, Lord."
John's gaze shined as he felt a weight from his shoulders being lifted up…. no…. the weight on his shoulders had been flung away.
Sigil is finally getting on the right track!
He looked at his subordinate and thought for a little while.
"Follow him, just in case. We still don't know the reason for such sudden changes. He is the inheritor selected by totem itself. No kind of harm and manipulation should touch the Kid."
John spoke out after contemplating for a little while. This world is filled with strange spells and a little caution doesn't harm anyone.
The subordinate nodded and left through the door of the office.
***
It was early in the morning and besides the occasional school buses, Sigil did not even find any store in business during these hours. He was jogging towards his destination.
He had just broken through and opened the seventh gate of wonder. His body needed a little time to adjust once more. This is the reason he decided to travel by foot instead of riding a bike.
After 15 minutes of jogging, he finally reached his destination.
It was a gym named Eagle Pump.
While a retail store wouldn't be in business during these hours, it was a rush hour for many gyms in the area. Eagle Pump wasn't an exception as many vehicles could be seen outside the gym.
He took a deep breath and entered the gym.
The interior of the gym was standard. Large space for pieces of equipment, various plates of weight, a square ring for combat practice. The whole place reeked of sweat.
'What else should I expect?' Sigil became speechless from his own thoughts.
Why would he complain about the smell of sweat in a gym?
He shook his head to get rid of his thoughts as he saw a 90's gangster haircut.
It was Ivan!
He was currently hitting on a hot member of the gym. She was wearing a sports bra with dark yoga pants. Her flat stomach was on a full display, attracting the attention it deserved.
Meanwhile, Ivan looked cool and composed. Evidently, he did not work out at all or the work out of the gym was ineffective. His smile still infectious, charming the lovely lady.
"Yo! You wanted to meet me, darling!" Sigil smiled as he patted Ivan's butt, causing the lovely lady to feel surprised. Her expression turned into one of an understanding as she bid her farewell to Ivan.
"Hey! That was a cheap shot."
He really had a chance with the gorgeous lady.
"Well, I take them whenever I can."
Sigil smiled in response.
He wouldn't let any RedHawk to turn on their womaniser charm in front of him. Even if they did, they still fell a little short to Sigil's wolfish charm.
They both walked towards the door of the personal office of the owner and entered it.
"So? What happened?"
Sigil asked after sitting on his chair.
Meanwhile, Ivan took out an already smoked cigar and took a deep puff before sighing.
"Well, I couldn't tell this on the phone, but… sigh, I am outsourcing a service."
"For?"
Sigil's eyes narrowed.
"My brother."
Ivan replied. His expression immediately turned into a disappointed one after thinking about his brother.
'Where did we go wrong in raising him?'
Ivan thought silently.
"Look, I know that he did wrong, but he has already paid for his wrongdoings. Why get him killed?"
Sigil understood the meaning of 'outsourcing a service' all too well.
"You don't understand. We can go to brothels and pick up any girls from bars or other places as long as they are willing. Not only he tried to force himself on that Aria girl, but he also managed to force himself on a girl in our own town."
Ivan felt helpless.
"Wait, didn't I slash his dick off? Did you guys transplant a new one for him?"
"No, we didn't. He destroyed the girl by using metal rods. When we found the girl, she had already died due to blood loss. Sigil, her intestines were pierced!"
Ivan had a disgusted look. He wasn't disgusted by the girl's condition, instead, he was disgusted by his brother's twisted desires.
Even Sigil's mood turned grim when he listened to Ivan.
"The girl's background?"
"Orphan."
Ivan replied.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
Sigil came to the main issue.
"Dad wants to find an external professional for the task while I want to end my twisted brother personally. I am here to bid you farewell!"
"No!"
Sigil immediately stood up.
Killing one's own brethren meant that you are going rogue and you will be hunted by the family for the rest of your life. A luxurious bounty will also be placed on the rogue, causing many other witches to hunt rogue down.
Even though they did not speak much, they were already best friends. To previous Sigil, Ivan was also a brotherly figure.
"Calm down, I am not rushing to my death. I have contacted the Black Spiders and they have already prepared a familiar for me. Even though I will miss having a RedHawk of the family, I don't want a single familiar to be the reason that my brother can die an easy death."
"So…. you decided to go to a dark guild?"
Sigil slumped on his seat. He was speechless!
Black Spider was a terrorist organisation and every member of the organisation have large bounties on their heads.
"You know, I can just catch you and hand you over to your family."
Sigil continued with a chuckle.
Ivan smiled as he stood up.
"Thank you for being my friend. The next time we meet, don't try to be overly familiar or it will cause you trouble."
Sigil already understood that Ivan was going to kill his brother and go rogue. He just wished him luck and departed from the gym.
"Ah, I hope you would forgive my brother for his bad sense of humour. So? Where were we?" Ivan immediately walked towards the lovely lady with a charming grin.
***
Chestcovia City
The city was a small place and news travelled fast. The end of the serial killer ghost had already reached many pairs of ears and every citizen of the city felt joyful.
It has already been two days since the job had been taken care of.
In one of the morning bars of the city, an old man suddenly dropped his jug of beer and fell off his chair, falling on the broken jug.
As if the old man started the domino effect, all the customers of the bar started to die. The customers were followed by the bartender, the beggars and whores outside the bar and then the whole city.
In mere moments, the whole lively city became the land of the dead.
On the seat where the old man fell off from, a silver plated book emerged mysteriously. Its cover shining in a silver light and a strange rune etched on its surface.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Broughtwaorld
Broughtwaorld I apologise for the late update
Chapter 11: Grimoire World (1)
10:00 AM
Knock Knock
Click
The door clicked open as the caring Martha entered the room while pushing a small trolley.
"Master! I brought breakfast."
Martha called out for Sigil, who was currently taking a shower.
After his meeting with Ivan, Sigil decided to train in basic exercises. He had only entered the bathroom for a couple of minutes before Martha barged in.
'How rude!'
Sigil sighed.
Sigil loved to have a good bath. He wasn't particular about staying neat and clean, but it was more about the water pressure. He shook his head as he wrapped himself in his towel and got out of the bathroom, encountering a cheerful Martha looking towards him while eating the breakfast with shining eyes.
Even though Martha had a status of a maid, nobody actually really treated her like a maid. It was Martha herself who liked to act around Sigil.
The breakfast trolley was stationed near the bed while Martha was sitting on the edges of the bed with a plate on her laps.
"You know, it wouldn't hurt you to give me some privacy."
Sigil's bedroom only had two partitions. One for the bed and the wardrobe, while the other was for the bathroom.
"Oh come on, Master! We both have already seen each other naked. What's the point of getting shy now?"
She spoke as she took another bite of the breakfast.
"Do whatever you want."
Sigil refused to take the towel off as he took his clothes inside the bathroom and then exited after getting fully dressed.
He brought his chair near the trolley and immediately started eating the breakfast alongside Martha.
"Master, would you like to accompany me in the familiar farm of the family?"
Familiars are an extremely important part of a witch's life. In the three main studies of the Witchcraft, the familiars are the main reason for the study of 'Nurture'.
The study of Nurture not only strengthens the familiar, but it also provides certain benefits to the master of the familiar.
"Do you even need to ask?" He commented lightly as he ate with gusto.
Martha wasn't a true blood of the family and neither was she brought in by an Elder of the family, making her status extremely low.
Unlike Martha, Sigil was brought up by the family head himself! Not only was he treated as a young master, but he was also treated as a true grey!
He could choose a familiar from the family's elite group of familiars.
Seeing that her invitation was accepted easily, Martha smiled.
"So, Master. When do you plan to bed young mistress Alicia." She asked and acted in a subservient manner.
Looking at her acting, Sigil could only roll his eyes.
"Stop with your act. How about I bed you?"
Even though he said this, his actions were completely opposite. He did not stop eating at all!
The trolley had two compartments filled with food. Why would he stop eating?
"Well, you know that I won't say no to my dear master."
"Yeah, yeah. Just eat."
He responded in a dispirited expression.
He really felt tired talking with Martha.
Even though their relationship was a little complicated, they always manage to bypass their awkwardness by making silly jokes and mature humour on their previous act.
Well, at least, the new Sigil did this. The previous owner acted like a horny rabbit, ready to hump in a moment's notice.
Sigil shook his head and switched on the television.
"Hey! You are ignoring me again?"
"If you won't shut up, then yes!"
Sigil replied honestly and watched the television as he ate his breakfast in peace, or at least, he tried to eat in peace.
A polite knock could be heard followed by a voice.
"Young Master Sigil, Family Head has asked for every single Elder of the family to attend an emergency meeting. He also asked for your presence."
Sigil sighed and stood up.
"Well, this family doesn't let anyone eat peacefully." Martha snorted.
"You are the one to talk."
Sigil rolled his eyes and stood up.
***
Ricardo, on the other hand, had already arrived in the town of the one-star case. He was asking some questions regarding the victims when he looked at his watch.
"It seems about right. The opening of Grimoire World."
Ricardo muttered.
Only he knew how much he wanted to join this trip to Grimoire world. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts.
Even with his knowledge about the future, he was still moved by the opportunities in this Grimoire world.
His gaze flashed as he remembered the scene of Sigil bowing in front of him.
His gaze looked a little conflicted, but soon he sighed and carried on with his own task of solving the case. If he wasn't wrong, there was a newborn familiar in the area, causing all the suffering.
***
In the meeting room of the Grey Family.
"We just received the news of the sightings of a Grimoire World!"
John announced, his tone grim.
Beside him stood a bulky middle-aged man with a crew cut and trimmed Beard.
His name was Bert Grey. The Supreme Elder of the Grey Family, second only to John and a loving father to Bethany Grey.
In front of him sat other elders of the family. At the end were two young kids— Alicia and Sigil.
"Why were we called?"
Alicia whispered to Sigil.
He looked at Alicia strangely.
"If you don't know, how the hell am I supposed to know?"
Alicia's expression froze and soon turned into a wry smile. He was correct!
"We were able to block the news from going out, but the neighbouring families have already caught wind of the news. Including us, there are a total of four families. Our technicians are blocking all the news regarding the matter but we are still on a clock."
As John spoke, the facial expressions of all the elders turned into an excited one. Even Linda felt her face heating due to the excitement.
Energy Gates, Chakra Points and Grimoire Master.
These were the three stages of Witchcraft.
Even the Grey Family had never produced a single Grimoire Master. After all, they were the elite of elites.
"Uhm"
Bert coughed lightly.
Such a light cough proved to be effective as all the Elders were startled awake from their excitement.
John looked at them and nodded.
"The exploration will be led by Bert while I and other three family heads will stand guard outside the Grimoire world. No matter what lucky gains you get, you are entitled to keep it. But the exploration team of all the three families have a time limit of two days. After that, we, the family heads will explore the Grimoire world. There is no objection, right?"
Such a condition was extremely lucrative and nobody had any objections. Unlike other families where the Elders were supposed to give a cut of their gains to the family, John Grey gave them all the benefits.
Meanwhile, Sigil's eyes shined.
He suddenly remembered that John was also a professional scholar.
Such a method was extremely effective to boost the morale of the Elders to get as much benefit as they can. This will increase their own family's foundation while the resources left for other families will be extremely low.
"Gather all the juniors who have not left for their missions and prepare to move out. You have 20 minutes. Sigil and Alicia will stay here, others may leave."
John spoke out as all the Elders including Bert bowed towards John and left the meeting room.
"Do you guys know where the Grimoire world emerged from?"
John asked both of them.
Sigil and Alicia shook their heads.
"Chestcovia City."
"What?"
Alicia and Sigil felt a chill in their hearts.
Every time a Grimoire world emerges, the surroundings will face some kind of disastrous calamity.
The stronger the Grimoire World, the greater the area of impact.
"Yeah, the whole city has become a land of the dead. If you both hadn't left yesterday, you guys would have died as well. That is to say, the anonymous sender also warned you. From now on, if the sender contacts either of you, tell me immediately."
John spoke out gravely.
A Grimoire world is left behind a Grimoire Master as an inheritance. The Grimoire world will contain the spells, nurturing methods of certain familiars and other resources.
The fact to know about the Grimoire World is that no one could deduce the location of an unerupted Grimoire World.
The fact that the Anonymous sender deduced the location meant that there may be certain Techniques and spells to deduce the coordinates of the Grimoire World, which could bring great profits to the family.
"Understood."
They both replied.
***
"Elder Linda, did you find anything about the sender?"
After separating with Alicia, Sigil immediately found Linda. He wanted to know about the progress in finding the anonymous sender. Besides Alicia and John, only he knew the true worth of such an informant.
Linda was preparing for the expedition. Various tools were being packed alongside some exotic materials. Her familiar- The Three-tailed Spirit Fox was nowhere to be seen.
"We still haven't found the sender. Obviously, the sender knew what he was doing. Not even a single trace was left behind."
Linda spoke out. Even she was astonished when she couldn't track the sender.
"What about the list of familiars?"
"I will send that to you after the expedition."
"Mom! Where are my silver knives?"
A cute voice shouted as she entered the room.
It was Aria.
Aria's real parents died an unfortunate death in a case. They had just reached the title of an elder, but they ended up dying. At that point in time, Aria was only 4 years old. It was Linda who adopted Aria after the accident and they both have been living a good life since then.
"Ah! Big Brother Sigil! What are you doing here?"
She immediately hugged Sigil as she asked cutely.
Sigil chuckled and rubbed her small head.
"Just here to ask something."
Evidently, even Aria had to go to this expedition.
Linda and Aria were in their combat clothes. Unlike the fantasies of young blood, the combat clothes of Witches were extremely efficient, instead of showy.
Linda was wearing a Black T-Shirt with some markings on it. Her pants were a little baggy, her boots were solid yet flexible. On her belt were placed two pistols while a broad knife was strapped on to her thigh.
Meanwhile, Aria also had the same outfit.
The baggy pants were stretch and tear resistant, making them extremely effective in real life combat.
"Well, during the expedition, you will stick around with Sigil, alright?"
Linda said to Aria.
During the expedition, the Elders will explore the inner regions while the young generation will explore the outer region of the Grimoire world.
Sigil nodded at both of them and left for his own room to prepare for the expedition.
After getting into his combat clothes and preparing all the materials and weapons, he walked out of the room with a bag on his shoulders.
"Master, are you ready?"
Sigil controlled the blood in his nose, trying to prevent them from tearing his blood vessels and erupting like a volcano.
Martha had shown her worth as a Femme fatale.
Even the baggy combat pants looked a little tight on her legs!
"Even you are joining?"
"Of course."
This was a Grimoire World. Martha wouldn't want to be left out from such a lucky opportunity. She may very well enter the realm of Chakra Points in this expedition.
Sigil nodded and walked towards the garage of the Estate. This time, he wanted to take out his own car for a spin.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Broughtwaorld
Broughtwaorld
Thank you for all the support
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