Chapter 42
Chapter 42: Is there really an accomplice?
Lina reacted with extreme speed; her figure flashed, slipping ghost-like into the narrow gap between two massive alchemical machine units. She held her breath, quietly listening to the approaching footsteps.
A figure appeared at the doorway. The newcomer wore a standard apprentice robe of a beginner magic academy wizard, looking no more than fifteen or sixteen, with an ordinary face.
He carried a magic-powered illumination lamp in his hand, his expression tinged with tension and confusion.
He stood at the entrance and cautiously peered inside.
In the dim light, his gaze swept across the roaring machinery and the complex network of pipes, seemingly failing to notice Lina hidden within the shadows.
“Strange, I clearly heard a noise just now… was it a machine malfunction?”
Lina felt slightly relieved—so it had just been a false alarm. She waited patiently, preparing to act after he left.
The apprentice turned and walked toward the exit, but just as he reached the doorway, his steps suddenly halted.
His gaze fixed on the magical imprint paper Lina had left on the ground when she entered.
Damn, I’ve been discovered!
The “apprentice’s” magical fluctuations suddenly spread soundlessly like a tide of icy cold!
That was absolutely not a presence a human wizard should have—Lina was all too familiar with this kind of magical fluctuation!
It was the fiend Plant!
Damn it... there really is an accomplice!
Almost at the exact moment the opponent’s magic surged, Lina burst out from her hiding spot, her staff instantly in hand. Magic flowed around her body as her gaze sharpened like a blade, locking firmly onto her opponent.
The two confronted each other amid the thunderous noise of the machines.
“Where did this little thief come from!” The fiend disguised as a wizard apprentice did not realize Lina had already seen through it. It threatened, “Put down your staff and come with me to the security office, and your punishment might be reduced!”
Lina thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Sure.”
She gently placed the standard Wizards’ Association staff she had taken out onto the ground and walked toward him. “Let’s go then. You promised—you’d put in a good word for me.”
The ‘apprentice’ was stunned. He had never expected this human girl to actually give up resisting.
Forget it, there are more important things tonight—can’t let her interfere...
It turned its back and waved at Lina. “Let’s go. I keep my word...”
“Who the hell said anything about keeping your word!” Lina instantly pulled out her newly bought staff from her storage ring, leapt into the air, and brought it down in a jumping strike straight at his head!
“Bang!”
The armor-piercing spike at the tip of the staff struck the ‘apprentice’s’ head with a dull thud; the sensation of bone denting and cracking traveled through the wooden shaft into Lina’s palm.
If it had been a normal human... that blow would have killed him instantly.
Unfortunately, the opponent’s true form was a fiend.
The ‘apprentice’ slowly turned around, blood continuously seeping from the sunken top of his head. The aura around him grew incomparably cold, his eyes locking tightly onto Lina.
Lina raised her staff again, took a deep breath, and her gaze turned serious.
It seemed a tough battle was inevitable...
---
The glow flickering within the gargoyles’ eyes in the courtyard gradually dimmed. Annie and Sibyl exchanged a glance, confirming that the alarm in the courtyard had been lifted.
“Let’s go, meet up with Lina!” Sibyl whispered.
Carried by the Blessing of Wind, the three descended lightly into the courtyard like falling leaves, making not the slightest sound.
The moment they entered, Annie spotted two wizard apprentices sleeping peacefully on the steps.
“What should we do with them?” Annie asked softly.
“I’ll watch them,” Sariel volunteered, stepping forward. “I’ll guard outside the door. Those fiends are very cunning—if they try to escape from here, I’ll stop them immediately.”
Sibyl nodded and, together with Annie, slipped into the dim teaching building.
Inside, the building was eerily quiet. Only the faint sounds of mechanical levers and gears from the magical devices within the walls, along with the low hum of the underground alchemical power furnace, could be heard.
The two moved forward by feeling their way beneath the dim fluorescent markers, finally arriving at their predetermined meeting point: the staircase on the first floor.
However, Lina was not there.
Just as Sibyl began to sense something was wrong, the sound of heels striking against the tiled floor echoed from above their heads.
Annie and Sibyl both took a step back, raising their staffs in unison, watching the staircase with vigilance as magic quietly gathered at the tips.
Under the fluorescent glow, a pair of slender legs in short boots came into view, followed by a dark blue skirt ribbon, and then that signature waist-length black hair.
The two let out a breath of relief and lowered their staffs.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Annie, Sibyl,” Lina stepped out from the darkness, revealing a gentle smile. “Let’s go. The fiend is in the alchemy room on the second floor.”
Annie and Sibyl followed her, heading upstairs.
Suddenly, Sibyl recalled Lina’s prior instructions and casually asked, “Lina, why didn’t you wear that white dress today? I think you look better in that one.”
“Oh, um... I washed that outfit yesterday,” Lina replied vaguely. “White clothes aren’t suitable for night operations... forget about that, let’s hurry upstairs and deal with that fiend!”
Annie and Sibyl exchanged a glance.
Lina had never owned a white dress! This ‘Lina’ was a fake!
The two immediately distanced themselves from ‘Lina’!
“Wind Blade!” “Ice Crystal Spell!”
Two spells shot toward ‘Lina’s’ back simultaneously—there was no way to dodge from that angle!
“Boom!”
Dust scattered, ice crystals shattered and flew!
“You... when did you figure it out?” From within the dust slowly emerged a humanoid monster with black skin and blood-red eyes. The wounds carved across its skin by wind blades and ice crystals hissed with black smoke, healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“Your casting speed is fast—even comparable to some D-rank official witches... your souls... must be delicious as well.” The black monster licked its lips greedily before suddenly lunging toward the two!
Lina and Annie rolled to opposite sides at the same time, the monster’s claws narrowly brushing past the edges of their skirts, leaving afterimages in the air.
The moment they finished rolling, they immediately gathered magic again and launched attacks at the fiend.
However, the fiend merely waved a claw lightly, dispersing the sharp wind blades and piercing ice spikes.
The magic around its body began to condense. Its mouth stretched open all the way to its ears, revealing rows of ghastly white teeth, making it look especially horrifying—like a nightmare lurking within a dream.
Sibyl’s heart sank. The magical fluctuations emanating from this monster... had likely already reached C-rank strength!
“The little girl you’re looking for... she’ll never have the chance to see you again,” it sneered darkly, its hoarse, rasping voice like nails scraping a chalkboard, sending discomfort through the body. “If you had brought that woman outside with you, you might have had a slight chance. Just the two of you... you’d better give up struggling obediently!”
“Annie, run! We’re no match for it—Annie?” Just as Sibyl reached out to grab Annie’s hand and pull her away from the staircase, a bone-chilling cold suddenly surged from Annie’s arm!
Annie stood in place, head lowered, saying nothing.
Pale blue ice crystals spread rapidly from beneath her feet across the floor, while the temperature of the air dropped at an astonishing rate. Nearby windows became coated with a thin layer of frost.
She slowly raised her head. Within her gray pupils, a pair of ice-blue snowflake imprints gradually emerged. A powerful magical aura spread outward, clashing against the aura of the fiend Plant—and even slightly gaining the upper hand!
Annie looked at the fiend with an indifferent expression, like a queen gazing down upon a servant prostrating at her feet.
“Hey...” Her voice was as cold as frost, as if it could freeze the fiend down to its very marrow. “What did you do to Sister Lina?”