Chapter 102: The Detectives Strike!

Though the room was as luxurious as it could be, it was also quiet and dark, swallowing the boy’s black hair into the shadows even more. He sat in a wheelchair near the window, the room’s only source of faint light.

His red eyes, ringed with dark veins, landed on a bird gliding over a tree, its sharp claws clutching the leaves as it flew. It hung in the air, circling over a worm crawling on the ground. 

Then the boy’s attention was dragged to a cage carried by a butler walking through the royal grounds. The Queen’s pet bird inside was also staring at the worm, its beak poking out between the bars with predatory intensity.

The bird above suddenly descended. Its claws seized the worm tightly as it soared off with its prize. Meanwhile, the bird in the cage could do nothing but watch.

The boy was like the caged bird, yet he was envious—of them both.

One had full freedom over its life, able to do anything it wanted at the risk of being killed by another wild predator. The other, on the other hand, had lost its freedom, but it had a house that shielded it from wild beasts, and an owner who tended to it with royal luxury.

And he… had himself, and this dying body.

He raised his hands, fingers threaded with black veins, and pressed them against the glass, watching the world beyond the window. 

He was angry. Angry that others still lived free of iron bars. Angry that others were treated with care.

***

After four grueling hours of studying, the academy finally entered its first-ever interval. Lucion made his way through the crowd towards the cafeteria, followed by Adrian. Having gotten a meal far more decent than what a commoner like him could normally have, he sat next to Adrian on a bench at the far left.

“Next are the elective periods.” Adrian asked while eating. “What subjects are you going to choose?”

Unlike on Earth, the general subjects we have to study here are things such as Aether Theory, Magic Study, Combat and Physical Training, Spirit Studies, etc. These are taught by the professors-in-charge of each class, with Combat and Physical Training being given by two separate professors—one for mages, one for physicalists.

Then there are also subjects of which we can choose three to study, examples being Alchemy, Rune Study, Beast Taming, Military Strategy, Politics and Diplomacy, etc. Those are taught by a different professor for each one.

After some thought, Lucion answered, “I would probably pick Alchemy, Astral Refining, and Magic Engineering.”

Those were the three I picked most out of all the runs in the game. It doesn’t matter which I choose anyway; all the chapters are hard, be it in combat or in study. It wasn’t called the ‘impossible game’ for nothing.

Lucion’s eyes flickered as a shadow fell over him.

“Hey, you commoner and the son of the deadbeat noble, get away from there.”

It was a voice Lucion had heard before, just yesterday, in fact. He turned around to see Cedric and two other sons of dukes standing there. Adrian, his noble household being under Cedric’s dukedom, was instantly stunned with fear.

Lucion stared at Cedric’s face coldly. Is he angry because I, a commoner, was only a rank below him in the opening ceremony?

‘Hey, Lucion, maybe we should do as they say?’ Adrian whispered, his feet already moving.

The commotion drew the attention of most students in the cafeteria.

Cedric raised his fist. “Did you not hear what I sa—”

He felt a strong grip on his shoulder. But contrary to its strength, the hand was delicate.

“It’s not nice to start commotions.” The words came out playfully.

It was Neiscris, Professor Castil’s daughter.

Cedric gritted his teeth in pain. W-what the hell is this strength?!

She finally let go of his shoulder, and he and the other two boys quickly took a few steps away from her.

“What do you want, Neiscris?!” the boy to Cedric’s left asked.

Neiscris placed a finger over her lips and smiled. “Mm? Is it not nice of me to stop a commotion on the first day?”

“This is none of your business!” Cedric barked.

“So~?”

Cedric glared at her in anger, and that was all he could do. He turned his eyes towards Lucion, who was observing the situation, then back to Neiscris.

Finally, he turned around. “We’ll talk about this another time.”

As they left, Sylene, sitting alone at a single desk, and Astris, sitting with Lirth, both saw Lucion’s face.

It’s him. Both had the same thought.

Sylene narrowed her eyes as her gaze turned to Neiscris. But what is she doing with him?

After they left, Neiscris turned to Lucion with a happy smile. “That aside, I came to ask you something.”

Lucion felt fear and suspicion at the same time. “...What is it?”

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Her eyes turned towards Adrian, now intense, and she flicked her head to the side.

Her gaze sent a shiver down his spine. Noticing the gesture, he quickly moved away. “Y-you two talk, then! I-I’ll sit at a-another table!”

Walking backwards, he unintentionally stumbled upon Sylene’s table. He looked at her with a forced smile, and she returned it with a disgusted glare. Adjusting his glasses, he scurried away from there as well.

Lucion sat back on the bench, looking in confusion at Neiscris, who had settled beside him. Can’t she sit across from me?

‘Why is she sitting with him?’ A whisper drifted over.

‘Are they close?’

“So… what do you want to talk about?” Lucion finally asked.

“I was wondering what three optional subjects you’re choosing.” She looked at him with a feline smile. “Could you please tell me?”

Lucion waited for a few seconds, lost in thought. Why would she want to know his choices?

As she waited in anticipation, he answered, “...Alchemy, Astral Refining, and Magic Engineering.”

She tilted her head up slightly, thinking it over. “Mmm… great choices. What are your reasons?”

“Well, my Aether is not in a very good state, and my physical capabilities are not much either. So I decided to improve my Astral area and make up for my physical weaknesses with external items.”

“You’re smart,” she said, standing up. “See you later then~”

…That’s it? Lucion was left in confusion.

After finishing his meal, he searched for Adrian. With him nowhere to be seen and the interval nearly at its end, Lucion decided to head back to his class. As he came to a crossroad with a straight path, he stopped. 

On the path ahead of him, Vionette was walking towards the exit.

As he stared at her, she turned her crimson eyes towards him. Giving him a wink, she continued her walk without slowing down.

“Wait!” Lucion’s shout made her stop.

He had met her again. The person all of his questions were tied to, and the only one who knew the answers. He wanted to ask them all, but there was one question that stood above the rest:

“Who are you?!”

Vionette glanced over her shoulder, a smile playing on her lips. “I’m just Vionette Crimvane. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Looking straight ahead again, she continued her walk.

***

A group of people in black robes that hid their faces with white masks stood in a long room with an elevated platform at its end.

On top of that platform stood a man wearing the same robes. Behind him were two concrete slabs with multiple dead bodies laid upon them.

“We are only a few steps away from finally completing our task!” The man stretched his hands out to the sides and shouted. “Our Lord will surely return shortly and reward us for our contributions!”

All the people below bowed down in unison, shouting at once.

— Formless Sword: Origin (Unsteady Dawn) —

The doors were cleanly cut in half by a horizontal sword slash. After they crashed to the ground, two figures emerged from the settling dust.

The eyes of the man on the platform widened. “W-who goes there!?” He conjured dark magic in his hand. “Show yourselves!”

One figure was a man in a dark shirt, a grey tie, and a black coat over it, along with white gloves and a pair of sleek black glasses. The other was a girl in short black pants, a white shirt, and a cropped coat.

The man on the platform raised his hand, the magic circle aimed at them.

“You dare enter our Lord’s sacred palace without permission!?” He fired a large fireball towards them. “Pay for your sins!”

As the fireball blazed towards them, Elina raised her hand and swept her palm to the side. At her movement, the fireball veered sharply left mid-air, its trajectory changed completely, and slammed into one of the cultists.

The others watched in shock as he screamed in agony, consumed by their own fire, while the man on the platform was left speechless, his whole body drenched in sweat.

“Hey,”

Elina’s serious voice drew their attention away from the burning man.

She conjured a fire of her own. “I’ve been in a really bad mood these days. One, Lina went to find a sword by herself. Two, there wasn’t any banquet held for me to eat any new food!” She gritted her teeth in irritation. “Why, goddammit?! Couldn’t they have arranged one after the opening ceremony?!”

The more her voice rose, the more Aether was poured into the magic, making the fire’s intensity stronger rather than larger.

“I even left behind Miss Mara’s food for this!”

Seeing the flames climb higher and higher, all the cultists, including the head one, dropped to their knees before her and pleaded in unison,

“My Lady, please calm your righteous self! It is completely Gergrain’s fault that they didn’t hold a banquet for you to enjoy yourself!” They all looked up at her. “But is your righteous, such magnificent rage worth those fools?!”

Something inside Elina’s mind clicked. Her rage-filled eyes widened, as if she had stumbled upon forbidden knowledge.

She cleared her throat and said proudly, “T-that is completely right! Why would a magnificent dragon such as me get rage-baited by them?”

She laughed loudly, a hint of insanity laced through it.

Noa looked at her, then at the cultists kneeling before her. “You guys changed sides too quickly, gang…”

The head cultist’s eyes widened as he finally looked properly at Noa. C-Crimvane’s King?!

The king of the same kingdom that had annihilated nations overnight was standing before them. And it was far beyond anything their lord could ever do.

He turned towards Noa, still kneeling. “We are born to serve you, Lord!”

“What the fuck…?” Noa muttered, his expression blank.

He and Elina walked further into the room as the cultists parted to make a path for them. They looked around at the architecture and the robe-clad people.

“Can’t believe we actually found something underneath the academy,” Noa said, stepping up onto the raised platform.

Elina looked at him and asked, “Hey, do you think the academy will notice the hole we made to get in? We didn’t even cover it.”

“Nah~ probably not.”

They stopped near the concrete slabs and stared at the dead bodies, while the head cultist followed closely behind. Elina leaned down towards the corpses, lifted a finger of one, then let it fall limply back down.

She made a sneer. “Dead bodies always taste so bad…”

“Just grill them with your fire next time, then,” Noa added.

“I guess?” She took out a magnifying glass and searched the flesh thoroughly. “Detective Noa, do you see anything we can get a clue from?”

“Dumb Detective Elina,” he turned towards the head cultist, who was looking at them nervously. “We have the whole file right here.”

Elina’s eyes widened. “O-of course I knew that! I just… just… wanted to find physical evidence too!”

“Sure, bro.”

Activating [Nihility Decree], Noa formed two purple thrones out of Null Essence and sat on one, resting an ankle on his knee. Elina followed suit, taking the other with her legs crossed. 

The cultists below, and the man, stared at the thrones of shimmering purple energy.

‘Magnificent…’

‘To construct something using such a wild and powerful energy… how strong is he?’

‘Haven’t you heard the rumors?’

“Who is this Lord of yours?” Noa asked.

“I-it’s you, of course, My Lord!” the man answered.

“Not like that, my guy. The previous one.”

The man bowed slightly. “My apologies. That was Lord Baleck, My Lord.” 

“Were you guys trying to use these dead guys as sacrifices to bring him here or something?”

“Y-yes. How did you know, My Lord!? You must have great wisdom!”

Noa stared at him with a deadpan expression. That’s how it goes all the time in stories.

“How were you guys going to do that? A ritual?” Elina asked.

The man brought out a file, knelt before Noa, and handed it to him. “H-here, My Lady. You can see all the details about our previous lord, the cult, all the members, and how it works in this.”

Noa turned the file’s pages and read at most two sentences. Meanwhile, Elina leaned towards his seat to take a look too. Noa suddenly flung the whole file over his shoulder, and it landed on the dead bodies behind them.

“Fuck it, we ball.” Resting his cheek on a fist, he looked down at the cultists. “Now then… kneel.”

Seeing all the people bow before them, a dark smile curved across the duo’s faces. A low chuckle escaped their lips before blooming into a wild, maniacal laugh.

“This feels so good!”

“Agreed!”