Chapter 136: The Three Meet, Imminent Outbreak

(Stuck on the writing, though it’s not a major issue; if this transitional scene isn’t handled well, it will be a disaster. Damn it! I’ll give it my all to get it right!)

Weber and "Vanessa"—or rather, the Source of Life, Elfin—exchanged no further words. The two walked in silence through the area of the Stevenson Academy of Magic, now shrouded by the crimson barrier, following some unseen guidance.

"This is the place. Are you prepared?" Upon reaching the center of the academy, Vanessa turned to look at the silent Weber Lanch.

"I am prepared. You should keep your promise. Resurrection—every method I have tried has only ever produced a useless husk, but your existence has shown me hope. Just as you said, when all the knowledge I possess tells me it is impossible, I have no choice but to pray to you."

Weber raised his head, his aged face set with an inscrutable resolve.

"So, you’ve finally made up your mind? I won’t spare a single soul in this academy, you know. This is not merely my will, but the will of those so-called creators of mine in Sewentan. Beyond the strategic significance of destroying your academy, the most important task is to unearth that 'key'."

"The key? Is that not merely a legend?" Weber asked casually, stripping off his neat shirt to reveal a physique that was unexpectedly robust, appearing far less frail and decrepit than his outward appearance suggested.

"How should I know? You humans seem quite fond of such things—collecting this and that to obtain some prize, deluding yourselves into believing in shortcuts to your goals. It seems most of your efforts pale in comparison to these gains that require no process at all."

Vanessa remained expressionless, recounting her view of humanity in a flat, emotionless tone.

"Whatever. I no longer care about such things anyway." Weber shook his head and crouched down before Vanessa.

"You shall attain eternal life within my body, and within me, you shall see the person you long to see."

Vanessa offered a stiff, unnatural smile and placed her hand upon Weber’s head. Beneath his deceptively sturdy frame, something began to squirm; a fissure tore open at his abdomen, and something emerged from within his body.

It was difficult to describe what it was—it looked like living muscle fibers and tissues. As these things peeled away, Weber’s body withered instantly, becoming aged and gaunt; perhaps this was his true form.

The stripped-away flesh crawled out from his body, creeping along the hand Vanessa held atop his head, entering her own form. As the substances that had been artificially packed into Weber’s body were fully extracted, the essence that belonged to him began to be drawn out as well.

His body shriveled rapidly, the light in his eyes fading, his frame shrinking continuously until, save for a skull that still retained its original shape, nothing remained on the ground but a pile of withered bones.

"New insights? Let me see... what can I glean from you..." Having absorbed much of the matter spilling from Weber, Vanessa held his skull before her—an object she found far more intriguing than a soul: the brain.

The face of the human girl split open, and dense, tiny tentacles extended from within, wrapping and enveloping the skull. No trace of magic or void energy could be sensed from these tentacles; they were organs that had spontaneously mutated or grown from the stored biological matter.

"Let me see your memories."

"BOOM!"

The tentacles began to probe into the various orifices of the skull, piercing the protection of the cranium to invade the fragile brain—which, though deprived of bodily energy, was still being kept alive by special substances. However, a sudden explosion interrupted her movements.

"Someone is still awake? This makes the ritual impossible to proceed. I shall read this fellow's memories later, then."

Her abdomen split open into a cavity, and Vanessa, now visibly larger, stuffed Weber’s skull into her stomach before turning toward the academy building where the explosion had occurred, from which plumes of black smoke were rising.

Unhurriedly, Vanessa began to walk toward the source of the anomaly that had disrupted her ritual.

...

"Cough, cough... it worked. All magic has lost its effect. This effect... it’s some kind of artifact. I’ll have to find a way to use Warlock powers."

Weber Lanch’s study was in shambles; a multitude of books had tumbled from the shelves, some already charred and burning. A large hole had been scorched into the carpet, and the door, once reinforced with seals, had been obliterated by the powerful blast, lying in ruins in the hallway.

Stepping out from behind a desk used as a barricade, Avia tucked the unconscious Wendy safely against the wall, murmuring, "I don't know what the teacher is planning, but I must do something."

After being trapped in the teacher's study, Wendy had first fallen into a coma under some mysterious force, but Avia, protected by the mental warding gifted to her by Wang Yu at the manor, had remained unaffected by this strange power targeting the soul.

She had then witnessed the academy being swallowed by a massive crimson barrier. At first, she had tried to leave the study by undoing the seals her teacher had placed.

But before she could undo more than a few, a strange field manifested. This sudden field locked away all power representing magic, rendering all magical forces meaningless within its reach. Avia knew well that only an artifact could achieve such a feat.

The intruder attacking the academy possessed an artifact—this made their identity crystal clear: an invader from Sewentan.

She did not know the intruder's specific goal, but it certainly wasn't for peaceful exchange.

This artifact capable of suppressing magic was the natural nemesis of all mages, and combined with the Void power that had eroded Wendy’s mind into a coma, it was clear how much preparation the intruder had made—or rather, how much the traitor, Teacher Weber, had orchestrated using his position at the academy.

Sitting and waiting for death was not something Avia would do. With magic completely neutralized, the girl had lost her most powerful spellcasting ability, but she was not helpless.

The anomalies appearing in the surrounding void had caused these void energies to be marked with the same sigil she had encountered when facing the Void Evil God at the manor. These energies were difficult for Avia to utilize.

But that was in the past. From being nearly impossible to harness, she had reached a point where they could no longer fully prevent her from driving Void energy.

Although it significantly hindered her use of witchcraft, Avia’s affinity for the Void—which had never stopped progressing since that time—now allowed her to forcibly seize ownership of these energies.

Admittedly, the special conditions of the surrounding void made it difficult for Avia to constantly replenish her Void energy. She could not cast spells with abandon, but limited use of witchcraft was no longer a problem.

As an alchemist, Avia knew exactly how to use limited Warlock abilities to create sufficient impact on reality.

Weber Lanch’s study, even without its seals, was a sturdy warehouse; the iron door was not something an ordinary person could open.

Avia had calculated that using pure witchcraft to breach this heavy door would consume over thirty percent of her Void energy reserves. At this moment, replenishing that amount would take several times longer than under normal circumstances; using Void energy without a plan would be foolish.

Topaz solution, Collet ore powder, Flameheart grass pollen... the materials for the simplest alchemical bomb were created by Avia as she used her Warlock powers to slightly distort reality. Combining these substances—which cost less than one-twentieth of her Void energy—into a tin canister, she finally blew the iron door away with a thunderous roar.

Carefully stepping out of the study, Avia explored the exterior with caution. The entire academy was deathly quiet.

It seemed that the mages who could not cast mental protection spells without magic had all fallen into a coma like Wendy. She did not know if the noise she had made would attract the attention of the enemy lurking within the academy; caution was absolutely necessary.

Conjuring a small Warlock’s Eye, Avia sent the low-energy construct out through a window to safely scout the situation outside.

"Hmm?" Avia felt a flicker of confusion. In the image transmitted by the Warlock’s Eye, a young-looking girl was walking toward her. Her target was clear: the very building Avia was in, the one emitting black smoke from the explosion.

"How can this be? Who is she? Wait..." Avia did not know the orphan Vanessa, but she quickly noticed that something was wrong with her.

Her height was completely off. If her face looked to be about nine to twelve years old, then what was with that height of nearly one meter ninety? And...

The Warlock’s Eye circled far above her head, and soon discovered that the "little girl" with the bizarre proportions had cracks on her neck and even her head. Within those fissures, something seemed to be constantly squirming, a sight that induced a wave of nausea.

Suddenly, "Vanessa" snapped her head around one hundred and eighty degrees, her neck twisting as she looked upward, staring directly at the Warlock’s Eye—which was composed of pure Void energy and should have been invisible to ordinary people—and flashed a grotesque smile.

"Found you." The strange tone sounded as if an adult body were attempting to mimic a child’s voice.

Avia was startled, but she did not let the shock dissipate the Warlock’s Eye. Instead, she quickly used it to lock onto "Vanessa’s" position and pulled out the prototype firearm she always carried.

Void energy surged; alchemical fuel and a projectile were rapidly created by Avia, generated directly inside the barrel without the need for loading.

Straightening up, she rested the barrel on the windowsill, aimed at "Vanessa," and pulled the trigger to ignite the alchemical fuel.

"Bang!" The fuel detonated within the chamber, the resulting propulsion driving the special projectile forward.

The projectile shot out of the barrel at a speed far exceeding that of a standard arrow. Mid-flight, the projectile shattered, rapidly scattering small steel beads that struck "Vanessa" in the head in the blink of an eye.

The debut of this "gun" was a success. The hand-crafted shotgun pellets were highly effective; at a distance of ten meters, the powerful thrust generated by the alchemical fuel tore a large hole in "Vanessa’s" skull, with numerous steel beads embedding themselves within, revealing the squirming, grotesque flesh inside.

However, this injury, which would have been fatal to any normal person, seemed insufficient for "Vanessa." The flesh on her head squirmed, slowly repairing the wound and squeezing out the embedded steel beads through the growth of new tissue.

Avia retreated quickly after the shot, but through the Warlock’s Eye, she saw this scene and gritted her teeth. This was trouble. Most of her offensive means were restricted, and her most powerful, newest "gun" was struggling to inflict sufficient damage on a "Vanessa" with regenerative capabilities.

With the wound on her head repaired, "Vanessa" approached the building unhurriedly. It was clear she didn't take Avia’s resistance seriously, and in truth, Avia was struggling to truly harm this thing.

"This is bad..." Feeling a surge of tension, Avia wasn't sure if she could handle this creature. Magic was sealed, the Void was restricted; all she had was the "gun" in her hand. But would it really work?

"It has to work." Her eyes hardened. She was not someone who could only fight under the protection of others; in this situation, she had to rely on herself.

If it had regenerative abilities, then she would add components to inhibit regeneration. Burning—she would add solid fuel to the bullets; if they hit, they would stick to the target’s body, causing continuous burning and destruction.

The Warlock’s Eye followed "Vanessa" as she stepped into the building. Avia carefully channeled her limited Void energy to craft the ammunition she had designed. A bullet with an inner layer of high-density solid fuel landed in her hand, and the girl shoved it into the barrel.

The next shot would not be a flying projectile, but highly adhesive fire. Whether it could destroy faster than it could regenerate remained to be seen, but she had to try.

"Vanessa" entered the stairwell, moving upward step by step. A strange smile played on her lips, as if she were pleased by something, and she didn't care at all about the prying of Avia’s Warlock’s Eye.

"Hoo." After inhaling, she held her breath, raised the crude gun, and aimed at the end of the corridor. As soon as it rounded that corner...

"Hum!" However, before Vanessa could arrive, there was a sudden hum—a spatial fluctuation.

Avia watched in astonishment through the Warlock’s Eye as a spatial ripple appeared in the stairwell. The source was a Tarot card that had been lying in the corner—when had it appeared there? Had she failed to notice it?

Light flickered, and a figure lunged out from the spatial rift, landing directly behind "Vanessa." He was incredibly fast; the moment he emerged, he realized what "Vanessa" was. With a shout of "Holy shit!", he slammed his foot into "Vanessa’s" back.

"It is him..." Without a shred of reason, the moment she realized who had arrived, a surge of confidence and relief blossomed naturally within Avia's heart. Her finger remained pressed against the trigger, refusing to let the sudden ease compromise her taut frame; she had to seize the next opportunity.