Knock, knock, knock.
An abrupt knocking suddenly rang out.
Immediately after, the door was pushed open, and a young girl burst into view.
“Erylin?”
Lillian, who was lying in bed, called out in surprise.
Erylin offered a smile in response, then walked over to sit by Lillian's bedside.
“Are you feeling any better? Yesterday...”
Erylin spoke hesitantly, afraid of upsetting Lillian's emotions again.
“Yesterday was my fault. I'm really sorry.”
“Wait, you don't need to apologize,”
Lillian waved her hands in a hurry.
How could she possibly blame Erylin?
Then, Lillian gave a bitter smile.
“You've always been like this.”
“I was the one who lost control of my emotions, yet I went ahead and dumped all that negativity onto you.”
“And yet, you're the one coming here to apologize to me.”
At the thought of what Ain had said to her yesterday, a wave of guilt washed over Lillian.
“Your death would be the most painful punishment for them.”
In an instant, countless memories flashed through Lillian's mind.
Ever since she met Erylin, the girl had always been this way.
Kind, cheerful, caring...
She would share her notes when Lillian fell asleep in class, share funny stories when Lillian couldn't sleep, and comfort her when she was in pain.
She hadn't even done anything for Erylin yet, let alone repay her kindness.
Yet, in the deepest depths of her heart, she had actually harbored the despicable suspicion that Erylin would execute her because of the Typhon Chain!
“It's really nothing.”
“Oh, right, I bought some wraps from the cafeteria. The teachers from Persephone said you didn't have much of an appetite, so I brought some light soup too.”
As she spoke, Erylin took out the pre-packed food from her bag and laid it out on the table one by one.
“Also, didn't you mention last time that you wanted to travel to the south? I asked the professor, and there happened to be exactly two academy travel passes left, so I've already reserved them.”
Erylin's lips curled up, blooming into a sweet smile as warm as the sunshine.
“Let's go on a trip together this holiday.”
Looking at the dazed Lillian, Erylin asked with some confusion, “Eh? What's wrong?”
Tears welled up in the corners of Lillian's eyes. From beginning to end, it had always been others worrying about her.
Whether it was Ain or Erylin.
Why did she only think of her own release while ignoring their feelings?
“I, I...”
“Erylin, why... why are you all so good to me...”
Lillian threw her arms around Erylin, gently shaking her body.
“You dummy, dummy, dummy!”
Since the day she was cast aside by her family, she had been an abandoned existence. How could she have ever expected to meet people who truly cared?
“Eh???”
Shaken until she was a little dizzy, Erylin didn't quite understand what was happening, but her heart was already bursting with joy.
The familiar, lively Lillian was finally back.
Looking at her close friend right in front of her, Lillian couldn't help but reach out, wanting to touch Erylin's cheek.
But halfway there, her hand froze in midair.
Countless intricate magic circuits spread across her slender arm. The original skin tone gradually faded, ultimately turning into a translucent, glass-like crystalline state.
Lillian instantly pulled her hand back.
“What's wrong?”
Erylin looked on, utterly confused.
“My hand... why, why is it like this?”
Staring at her gradually crystallizing arm, Lillian's expression shifted from bewilderment to sheer horror, fear flooding her eyes like a rising tide.
“Is something wrong?”
Lillian looked at her in astonishment.
“You... you can't see it?”
“See what?”
Erylin tilted her head.
Feeling her heart pounding violently, Lillian instinctively looked into Erylin's eyes.
Reflected in the depths of those pupils was her own figure. Her right eye had already turned a bizarre, deep purple. Two pairs of pitch-black wings spread out wildly behind her back, and a deep, dark magic hat materialized out of thin air above her head.
The surrounding furnishings were crumbling and dissolving at a visible rate, turning into wisps of black smoke. The entire room was enveloped in a sinister, dark purple glow, exuding a suffocating, deathly silence.
Yet, standing right beside her, Erylin seemed completely oblivious to this terrifying transformation, her face still filled with worry.
“Are you okay? Do you need me to call a teacher?”
Lillian did not reply.
At the edge of her fading consciousness, the young girl forced a sorrowful smile, using the very last of her strength to squeeze out those words.
“Erylin...”
“I'm sorry.”
...
“So, what did Belinda mean by that last sentence she said?”
Ain sighed as he responded to Rosalind beside him.
“I'm not sure.”
Looking at The Banshee card in his hand, Ain couldn't help but feel that everything was connected.
【9】The Banshee
Spirit Card (Black Card)
Upright: Announcement of death, wails of mourning, irreversible warning of demise.
Reversed: Warnings ignored, an unexpected blow.
The first time he had performed a divination for Lillian, it had been this exact card.
What did the Saintess refer to? Why did Belinda point to this card at the very end? Did she recognize the pattern on it?
A demon holding a clay pot, with a tattered horn in its mouth.
What did this have to do with the Nightingale Secret Order?
Ain sighed again.
Things were even more complicated than he had imagined.
Although he knew the Nightingale Secret Order was plotting something, he was entirely in the dark about their motives and goals.
He only knew that Lillian's witchification was merely a single step in achieving their ultimate goal.
What concerned him even more was that Sevis, as a Tier 4 Mage, was undoubtedly a powerful combat asset. Yet, the Titan Prosecution Office had discarded him just like that?
No matter how out of hand yesterday's incident had gotten, it was ultimately just a misjudgment on Sevis's part. In essence, he hadn't committed any real crime. Yet, not only did the higher-ups turn a blind eye to those targeting Sevis, they even planned to use him as a scapegoat?
He had earned the recognition of the Scale of Astral Judgment back when he was still a student!
To think the Titan Prosecution Office would treat such a rare talent this way—had its internal corruption reached such an extent?
The subordinates might be brainless, but surely the higher-ups couldn't be that foolish too?
Thinking this, Ain couldn't help but tap his head, as if doing so would help clear his thoughts.
“But at least we can narrow down a general location.”
Rosalind blinked.
“Where?”
“The teaching building of the Arcane Department.”
Ain's gaze sharpened.
This was precisely the location he had divined at the very end.
“Belinda's past fate showed me that her deepest secrets are hidden there.”
“Heh, I wonder how busy Arbiter Erich has been.”
“Let's head back and check on Sevis first.”
...
“Lord Arbiter! We didn't find any secret passages. These are all normal hydroponic racks.”
At this moment, Erich's brow was furrowed tightly. He clenched his right hand into a fist, anxiously tapping his forehead over and over again.
He had interrogated hundreds, if not thousands, of suspects. Based on Belinda's reaction and the fluctuations of the instruments at the time, there was no way her terrified look could have been an act.
“Search every single inch of this floor!”
“No, not just this floor! Search the third and fourth floors thoroughly as well!”
Erich ordered his subordinates while anxiously scanning his surroundings, trying to find any trace of a clue.
He had to find a lead before Ain arrived!
“Lord Arbiter, there seem to be signs of excavation here!”
Before the student could even finish speaking, Erich could no longer contain himself. In a flash, he rushed straight over.
Scanning the corner, the dilapidated and messy scene stood out like a sore thumb against the surrounding environment.
“Move aside.”
Erich drew his wand, chanting an incantation under his breath.
“Lord Arbiter, isn't releasing magic here a bit...”
Erich didn't care about any of that.
As the incantation ended, a loud explosion rang out. Once the smoke and dust cleared, a small, cramped space was revealed before everyone's eyes.
Inside the space stood a cabinet. Aside from medicinal herbs he had never seen before, several documents lay on the table.
He found it!
Joy instantly surged in Erich's heart.
Ain really hadn't been wrong!
At this moment, his lips curled into a meaningful arc.
“Once Sevis falls, I wouldn't mind picking you up as a pawn to use.”
Rate on N.U.
