Ch. 132
Volume 2
Chapter 56 : Rainy Night
Amid the deafening roar of countless machines and gears in motion,
amid Teacher Mera’s feverish cries,
Muen fell into a daze.
What is human-made? What authority?
Could something like authority really be artificially created?
And what exactly was this terrifying thing that felt like the sort of ultimate trump card only brought out in the grand finale, the kind the protagonist would carry into a life-and-death battle against the final villain?
According to the original novel’s progression, they had not even finished the Academy Arc yet!
“According to my original calculations, I was supposed to awaken five years from now and only then resume this plan.”
A trace of wistfulness suddenly appeared in Mera’s amber-like eyes.
“But since I awoke ahead of time, and the course of Fate has already become so chaotic that even I can no longer predict it, I have no choice but to take this step early.”
So this really was something that was only supposed to appear in the late stages?!
“Then... why exactly did you call me here, Teacher Mera?”
Muen’s legs had already begun to weaken, and even his speech was no longer smooth.
“I do not think there is anything I could possibly help with.”
Originally, Muen had assumed that Teacher Mera intended to use him to research some dreadful forbidden magic or something of that sort.
Before coming here, he had already prepared himself for the possibility that he might either succeed or die trying.
But he had never imagined that she would pull out something like this directly.
How was he supposed to help with that?
He could not even understand the principles behind why those gears were suspended in the air and turning on their own.
Other than hiding in the corner and waving a little flag while shouting that the boss was amazing, what else could he possibly do?
“As for that...”
Teacher Mera suddenly turned around and revealed a meaningful smile to Muen.
The moment that gaze fell on him, Muen shuddered and slowly backed away while clutching his collar.
“W-What are you trying to do?”
“Well, although I shouted very loudly just now, this is actually only a prototype of an authority. It still falls far short of being a true authority.”
Teacher Mera said with an entirely harmless expression,
“After all, how could a dead object forged through alchemy and magic possibly become a true authority on the same level as a god?”
“I-Is that so? Then what?”
“So...”
Mera waved her small hand, as though gathering everything around them into her palm.
“They need a vessel. A living vessel.”
“A vessel?”
Muen’s mind blanked for a moment.
Then it felt as though a Tsar Bomba had exploded inside his skull, leaving his scalp numb with terror.
“A vessel? Who?”
“Who else could it be?”
Teacher Mera asked strangely,
“Is there a third person here?”
“Me?”
Muen looked at that mechanical creation whose full form remained utterly impossible to see, whose true size he could not even begin to imagine.
Then he looked down at his own skinny arms and legs and shook his head frantically.
“No, no, no. It is way too big. It will not fit.”
“It will!”
“It definitely will not! I will be torn apart!”
“If I say it will, then it will!”
Mera said with absolute finality,
“And of course I am not going to stuff something that large directly into your body. I will naturally make a certain degree of modification first.”
“Modification?”
Muen gestured at the thing.
“You mean you are going to modify that thing until it is so tiny that I can carry it in my pocket?”
“No. I am going to modify you until you can fit anything inside.”
Mera answered seriously.
“...”
After a brief silence, Muen seemed to finally understand. He raised his head and said with a grave expression,
“So... if I get off now, is it still not too late?”
“You want to leave?”
Mera sneered.
Then she snapped her fingers.
Along with the sound of mechanisms turning, that enormous gate slammed shut.
Immediately afterward, an unknown number of lock mechanisms clicked into place in rapid succession from within the gate.
“You think you can take my blades and then leave? I have already welded the door shut.”
From behind Mera appeared all kinds of drills, chainsaws, axes, screwdrivers, and mechanical arms, spreading out like a peacock displaying its tail.
The cold gleam flashing from them turned Muen’s face deathly pale.
“Are you ready to receive your teacher’s affection, my dear disciple?” Mera said with a kind smile all over her face.”
...
...
That night.
In the Lower City of Belland.
The rain washed over the muddy ground, leaving behind twisted streaks like some abstract painter’s masterpiece.
Beneath the dim sky, a girl with hair buns strained to hold up a large umbrella, trying to keep the silver-white figure in front of her from being drenched by the rain.
But the silver-white figure seemed to find the umbrella an eyesore.
She pushed it aside and walked into the torrential rain, not caring that her uniform was soaked through in an instant.
Ahead of them, the area divided off by bright yellow warning tape was brightly lit.
Many black-clad men in raincoats were busily working on the open ground near the riverbank, carefully collecting something.
From time to time, they planted numbered markers into the ground.
At the center of the area they surrounded, faint white lines could be seen outlining the shape of a corpse.
At a glance, it was obvious that this was a murder scene.
Selicia lifted the warning tape and walked into the very center.
As she gazed at the corpse on the ground, dressed in a familiar uniform, there was still no clear emotion on her cool and detached face, yet both of her hands had unconsciously clenched tight enough for the joints to turn white.
“Your Highness.”
At some point, a balding middle-aged man came to Selicia’s side, repeatedly wiping his face with a handkerchief, though it was impossible to tell whether he was wiping away sweat or rainwater.
“We have identified the victim.”
“Speak.”
“Teck Rod. He really was a student of Saint Maria Academy, a second-year student.”
“Rod?”
“He is Count Rod’s fourth son. Although he has three older brothers above him, his talent was quite good, so Count Rod held great expectations for him.”
Before he had even finished speaking,
a commotion suddenly broke out at the edge of the warning tape.
Horses neighed sharply.
A stern-faced man stepped out of a carriage engraved with the Rod family crest and shouted harshly at the guards blocking his way:
“Let me through! Do you know who I am? I am Count Rod! I am going to see my son!”
The scene instantly descended into chaos.
The guards brought by Count Rod clashed with the officers at the perimeter, and for a moment everything became a complete mess.
It grew so noisy that even the sound of the rain became difficult to hear.
“Make him get lost first.”
Selicia suddenly said coldly.
“Huh?”
The balding middle-aged man froze for a moment. “Those exact words?”
“Those exact words.”
Selicia paused, then added,
“And tell him that I will give him an explanation.”
And so, with Selicia’s assurance, Count Rod could only leave in furious frustration.
Silence gradually returned to the scene.
The black-clad guards resumed gathering evidence in silence, and the only thing left filling the world was the sound of the rain.
Selicia lowered her head and looked at the corpse.
The blood around the body had already been washed clean by the heavy rain, but the corpse’s chest was still dyed a shocking red.
Through the torn uniform over the left side of the chest, it was vaguely visible that the corpse seemed to be missing an important part.
“The cause of death?”
Selicia silently withdrew her gaze.
“I-It is... just as Your Highness sees.”
The balding middle-aged man wiped at his endlessly damp forehead with force and said,
“The victim died... from having his heart torn out.”