Throne of Magical Arcana

In the Egret District…

Passing through the low and shabby cottages, Buck led Heidi to a quiet, dilapidated place that was dominated by grass. It was creepy even during the day.

“This place is occupied by some homeless guys, but they are busy with their lives during the day. That’s why they are not here.” Buck pointed at the shaking wall and said.

Zigzagging by a few muddy rooms that could collapse at any point, Heidi saw the crime scene in the photo. Filthy water was flowing, and flies were flying everywhere in the stench.

“The homeless have absolutely no sense of house maintenance. The entrance of the sewer is very close, but they still litter randomly.” Buck cursed. Even an experienced police officer such as himself was frowning in such an environment, not to mention an arcanist from the Atom Institution like Ms. Heidi!

Although it was not the field that Heidi was best at, she had abundant adventure experiences thanks to the Congress of Magic’s mandatory missions. Compared to the nests of trolls and giants, this place was as clean and comfortable as a noble lady’s garden. So, she walked over without frowning and looked for clues with spells.

“The storm last time destroyed a lot of traces…” Heidi confirmed her guess from the magic feedback.

Buck looked at her hopefully. “Yes. That’s why we asked the Congress’ help. Is there anything you can do to help us?”

He did not use the full name, ‘Congress of Magic’, showing that he was one of the pro-sorcerers.

Heidi was not as naughty and playful as she usually was in the murder scene. Instead, she solemnly brought out the remains of the victim and performed a localization spell of the school of astrology.

The flesh in her hands suddenly melted and dropped on the ground, pointing at somewhere far away.

“Originally, the spell can only localize living creatures, but after modification, it can also trace the dead. As long as the murderer still has the guts, we will be led there.” A layer of blood wriggled on Heidi’s left hand.

Buck was amazed by the extraordinary magic and more determined to send his son to the generic school for elemental magic education.

This time, it was Heidi who led Buck. They traversed the Egret District and searched for the murderer.

After they reached an intersection, however, the blood in Heidi’s hands stopped boiling. As if the last vitality had been worn out, it began to emit stink.

“My lady, what’s up?” Buck asked concernedly.

Heidi looked around gravely. “The connection of the ‘kindred’ was cut off, which is something that only magic, divine power or the strength of a knight can achieve.”

“What?” Buck was rather surprised. A sorcerer or a knight was involved in a murder case against the poor? What were they up to?”

Heidi sniffed. “I asked before why the murderer did not destroy the body. It seems that it was not because they were incapable but because they had other purposes.”

“Other purposes?” Buck knew many secret files, but he still lacked ‘common sense’ compared to Heidi, an experienced sorcerer.

Heidi looked around and said casually, “Generally speaking, this is related to evil rituals or cults. They have to ensure that the original body still exists when they use the guts…”

“Then, I’ll submit your conclusion, my lady.” Buck wavered. This was something that was too much for himself. Let the higher-level knights of the police department, or maybe a senior-rank sorcerer, handle this!

He looked at the intersection. One road led out of the city, and the other led to the other side of the Egret District. He said, “The murderers must’ve escaped out of the city. It’s hard to find them now.”

Heidi was rather excited to encounter evil cultists. She brought out her crystal ball eagerly and said, “I don’t know about that. Let’s confirm it first.”

In Rentato, she was not scared that she would encounter an enemy that was too strong for her. Battles that were too intense would surely be discovered by the expert who guarded the Nekso Palace.

The transparent crystal ball was darkened by the magic power. Then, brilliant stars glowed, connecting to a belt of light that pointed in a direction.

“They went to the other side of the Egret District…” That was everything Heidi got from her astrology. “Let’s go over and take a look.”

Buck was slightly upset, but not having the courage to object, he could only follow.

“Ms. Heidi is a sorcerer close to the senior rank and a student of a legend. She must have powerful items. It won’t be a big deal even if we encounter evil sorcerers or cultists…” Thinking about that, he gradually calmed down.

At this moment, he saw that Heidi had been playing with a silver badge that was engraved with symbols of elements. It seemed to be a mini version of the periodic table. Even many civilians were aware of it and thought that it boasted the magic power to resist evilness.

Heidi chuckled. “It’s the medium for a magic ritual.”

“A magic ritual…” With Buck’s knowledge about magic, shouldn’t that be something that had to be prepared in advance?

As they spoke, they reached a corner of the slum along the road. It was a crowded and lively place.

“If they are cultists, there must be a lot of them. So, we can ask the locals whose house is frequented by strangers or has weird noises at night. That way, we should be able to find some clues.” Buck offered suggestions based on his experience.

Heidi smiled. “Thank you for your trouble, Detective Buck.”

Before a rickety hut stood a wrinkled old lady who was hanging her washed clothes.

“Greetings, my lady. I’m Buck from the police department. I would like to ask you a few questions.” Buck showed his badge courteously.

The old lady wiped her hands, somewhat stunned. “Mr. Detective, please ask.”

That was the normal reaction when the poor people met police officers. Buck nodded and asked, “You must be familiar with the neighborhood, right? Is there any household that is frequented by strangers or has obstreperous noises at night?”

The old lady thought for a moment and said, “No, I didn’t notice anything. I hardly go to other places in the neighborhood.”

Buck put his badge back. “Do you know anybody who knows the neighborhood better?”

“Yes, Mr. Monroe of the Black Brotherhood.” Said the lady in a low voice, as if she were scared of this Mr. Monroe.

Buck nodded. “Bring us to him.”

“No, please, officer, ask somebody else.” The old lady waved her hands in panic.

How could Buck compromise? Under his demand, the lady shut her door and led him and Heidi to walk on.

Below the low houses, women were washing clothes, men were chopping wood, and kids were watching the strangers curiously.

“How lively.” Remarked Buck.

Frowning, Heidi looked around and did not talk.

At this moment, the lady stopped before the most eye-catching two-floored house in the slum. “Sir and madam, Mr. Monroe is inside.”

She knocked on the gate while she spoke.

Heidi suddenly said, “We’ll visit Mr. Monroe another way. Duty calls.”

“What?” Asked Buck in confusion, but Heidi’s voice echoed in his mind. “Back off. Let me handle this, or I may be unable to take care of you.”

“Why?” Buck grew anxious. Was this the legendary telepathic bond?

Heidi chuckled. “The poor in the slums have to work for ten hours in order to survive, so only kids and some women can be found in such areas during the day. Look. How many men are at home? How do they feed their families?”

Buck was saturated with cold sweat. He did not have much down-to-earth experience. If it were the common police officers under his lead, they might’ve noticed something wrong a long time ago. He simply said, “Right, we have to return to the police department. We’ll visit Mr. Monroe tomorrow.”

“Hehe. You want to leave when you have already noticed things?” A cold and hoarse voice resonated with the intense stink of blood.

Inside the spacious hall, hearts, intestines, livers and other organs were placed in a weird pattern. Not only were they as red as if alive, but they were even fluctuating in rhythm.

All the men, women, and children stood up, their mouths splitting apart and revealing their thorny teeth. Their eyes became crimson and cold, with the air of evilness and paralysis.

The old woman next to them was suddenly dried, like a broken balloon, but then she suddenly expanded and spoke with a male voice. “Are you leaving?”

She raised her finger. Buck immediately felt that he was unable to move anymore.

“Finger of Death?” Buck heard Heidi’s voice in the telepathic bond.

When the black air pierced at him like a needle, Buck thought numbly, “Am I going to die?”

At this moment, he felt that his body became illusionary, before it became steady again and appeared on the other side of the street.

“This is…?” In shock, he realized that Heidi brought him away with a blink under the attack.

In the meantime, ‘Douglas’s Absorbing Wall’ appeared and blocked the crimson rays from the monster.

“You’re not in the senior rank. How can you perform Spell Trigger?” The male voice blurted in surprise, his old-lady body collapsing all of a sudden.

At this moment, the man organs inside the hall began to wriggle and gather into the weird shape of a human.

Heidi chuckled. “I am not in the senior rank, but who says that Spell Trigger is limited to the senior rank? The magic where spells are stored in advance and triggered by different conditions happen to my specialty. It’s a comprehensive application of storage, control, computation, input and output. I cannot simplify all of them, but I can simplify some of the modules… Maybe, the fifth circle will be the threshold for the senior-rank sorcerers later!”

She did not seem in a hurry at all, but her left hand pressed the silver badge nonstop, as if she were casting a complicated spell.

The monster jumbled by organs roared furiously, “I don’t understand, but you are not going to survive! Are you capable of any other senior-rank spells?”

He was about to complete his body. Those mouth-split monsters, on the other hand, blocked the street and disrupted flight.

Watching the red eyes, Buck felt that his legs were shaking. He could only place his hope on Heidi.

After her left hand was done, Heidi suddenly tossed out the silver badge, before she made a weird chant, “The roars from space summons the Atomic Universe…”

The monster lunged out the moment he heard the spell. His body was stretched into a long curtain of blood, corrupting everything around.

He knew very well that the legends were almost as powerful as gods. So, a lot of magic rituals had to be performed by summoning and communicating with different legendary demiplanes. For example, many rituals of the Hand of Paleness required the enhancement of ‘Silent Hell’, ‘Skeleton Land’ and ‘Resting Place’. Generally speaking, one would be able to borrow the strength of the legends as long as their rules were met, unless they intentionally blocked their demiplanes.

What he found hard to believe, however, was how short the magic ritual was.

It was also stored in advance?

The chant stopped, and it became extremely quiet. A black sky descended with many illusionary planets of elements.

‘Arcana Light’ illuminated in Heidi’s hands, and the projection inside the Atomic Universe expanded abruptly. The fusing planets showed up like suns.

Under their assistance, the overwhelming and scorching light swept across the whole slum, melting those red-eyed monsters whose mouth was split.

“Noooo!” The monster of guts cried miserably.