He moved forward fearlessly, his eyes scanning the surroundings, trying to catch a glimpse of the enemy.
Soon, he spotted the opponent, just two meters in front of him! Thorne's armor was covered in scars, yet he charged straight into the shockwave. His blue eyes, fixed on the mage who had locked onto him, held only bone-chilling coldness.
A ball of light flew into the sky; it was the lowest-level sorcery, 'Starlight', which possessed no lethality at all. Edward was puzzled, but his hands did not pause for a second.
With the Gavel of Haima in his left hand and a great club in his right, he swung them down in a cross.
Annihilation! The pressure was staggering; there was no solution other than retreating.
His eyes were locked tightly onto that slightly youthful face, his right knee already coiled with power, waiting for this person to use Bloodhounds Step and come to their death.
But at that very moment, the floating ball of light flared dozens of times brighter. Turning from a flashlight into a flashbang, Edward's vision instantly became a vast expanse of white, his eyeballs even stinging with pain.
Thorne, however, had closed his eyes in advance, and at the moment the great hammer was about to crush his skull, he tapped his right foot on the ground. Bloodhounds Step! A brief disappearance.
He only heard a 'boom' behind him, and even the roof began to shed bricks and stones.
Leveraging the sudden burst and the shockwave from behind, Thorne, head buried forward, passed between Edward's legs.
A sudden stop, a leap, eyes tightly shut, concentrating all his strength—
Backward stab!
Clack! The blade hit something hard, paused for a moment, then pierced straight through.
Thorne finally opened his eyes. The Starlight was fading rapidly. Edward's body had turned halfway, his blood-red eyes rolling upward, and the focal point of his gaze was the blade between his brows. The star-frost entered through the forehead and emerged from the back of the head, bringing out a spray of viscous red and white liquid.
Thud. The massive body knelt on the ground.
Thorne pulled his blade out directly, gave it a light flick to shake off a line of blood, and glanced at the mage kneeling face-up on the ground. His bared lips revealed grim white teeth. "Sorry, I really can kill you!"
Chapter 31: Shedding the Cicada's Shell
No matter how strong this monster from the Haima Classroom was, he was still a mage.
There were some things that even those proficient in the way of slaughter could not learn, let alone someone who favored strong offense over defense and relied on brute force to swing wildly.
"This is called the Mind Sword." Thorne spat out the words, and without even checking his spoils, he immediately rushed to the back of the archives.
The sound of the puppet soldiers' joints grinding was already very close.
Without needing to think, they would arrive here within two minutes, and then they would rush in first to search every inch of the corner. The firelight flickered uncertainly, and several bookcases had already been ignited. Thorne walked quickly past the bookcases, looking at each one carefully, as if he couldn't hear the shouting outside. His psychological stability had reached a monstrous level. "Section C, the second one, third column!"
Thorne's steps paused. He threw the books on the shelf onto the floor haphazardly, revealing the cabinet behind, and then knocked on them one by one.
Knock-knock, knock-knock-knock. The knocking was rhythmic, and when it reached a certain spot, a hollow sound echoed back. "Found it." Thorne's eyes lit up. The Academy really knew how to hide things; it was a bit like playing the 'darkness under the lamp' trick. This was much harder than hiding it in some treasure chest; even if someone could find it, they couldn't possibly take it out. That Edward didn't love to read, but he loved to smash people into meat patties. Trying to take it out was purely seeking death.
Even if he did take it out, the Academy would discover it was missing, and they could just 'shut the door to catch the thief'. "Damn it, Victor is dead! Watch out, the enemy is inside!"
Thorne turned his head. He had already heard the sound coming from the main door. He smashed the secret door open and took out a book with a leather cover from inside. It looked very plain, the yellowed pages revealing a sense of ancient history. Even though those mages had already arrived at the door, Thorne was still unhurried as he opened it to take a look.
He recognized every word inside, but put together, they seemed nonsensical. He immediately understood that a special method was needed to decipher this notebook. "Only the Primeval Sorcerers can understand this? Is the damn Academy doing entrapment too?" Sure enough, no one was a fool. Ordinary mages couldn't understand this notebook, and as soon as it was stolen, the Academy would immediately know that the Primeval Sorcerers were making a comeback and would begin an internal purge. It's a good thing I came; that idiot teacher would definitely have fallen for the trap.
Sellen's intelligence was entirely focused on research; she really didn't know how to play schemes and tricks. At this moment, he heard a sarcastic, sinister voice from outside. "Go in! What are you all standing there for?"
"Professor Seluvis, we are preparing to use search sorcery to determine the enemy's location."
"Get lost! If you're afraid of dying, let my puppets go in first." It's coming. Thorne, already a turtle in a jar, still didn't panic. He smashed a fire pot onto the bookshelf in front of him, instantly igniting a blazing fire.
He held the notebook in his hand for a moment, and as soon as flames caught, he hurriedly extinguished them. Then he hid the notebook back in his chest.
Click, click, click.
Something was lifting the bricks and stones Edward had smashed down. Thorne strolled through the fire, kicked a table flying, and with a crash, broke the window. The morning breeze immediately whistled in. That side was a bottomless cliff; escape was impossible. Thorne continued toward the door. As he passed Edward's corpse, he stuck a piece of paper on his forehead.
Enduring the pain in his ribs, he unhurriedly took off his armor, put on a mage's robe, and donned a Glintstone mask. "Breach!"
The clear sound of footsteps was separated from him by only a tilted door. Just as Thorne took out his staff and climbed up the wall—
Bang!
The wooden door was kicked off directly. Two heavy-armored puppets wielding greatswords rushed in, followed by a man wearing a magic professor's robe. Seluvis rushed into the room and immediately saw the burning bookcase and the huge figure kneeling in the center, then his gaze flicked toward the broken window.
"Did this little thief who disturbed my sleep run away?" Seluvis mused. He didn't care about Edward's life or death. He waved his hand, letting his puppets search inside, and then took out a Glintstone. Just as he was about to use search sorcery, dozens of mages surged in behind him.
"Where is the enemy?"
"Stay alert and guard the surroundings."
From apprentices to lecturers, people from all five magic classrooms had come. They wore various Glintstone masks, looking around vigilantly and nervously. Before they could even check carefully, several people from the Haima Classroom roared.
"Teacher Edward!"
"Go find a physician quickly."
Fire, morning breeze, and roars merged into one; the scene was incredibly chaotic. Thorne stretched his limbs, fixing himself in a spread-eagled position on the rafters, and held his breath. Two meters below him was a large group of mages capable of blasting him into oblivion a hundred times over. He could only inwardly thank the poor visibility of those strange Glintstone masks; he dared not move an inch.
Until the footsteps in the corridor disappeared and another professor stopped the continuously surging mages, he gently let go and fell with gravity. Thud. A dull thud. The last mage turned back and saw a colleague from the Oritis Classroom. Before he could ask, the other person had already squeezed over, roaring while pushing:
"Where is the enemy? I'm going to take this bastard and use him as material!" The tone was irritable, filled with the resentment of being awakened in the early morning. "I don't know, Professor Seluvis is searching."
The mage replied casually, tiptoeing to look inside.
Whispering, wailing, and cursing echoed in the archives, making Seluvis, who was already in a bad mood, have his veins pop.
He finally couldn't take it anymore. "Leave twenty people to put out the fire, everyone else get out of here!!"
Seluvis was truly detested by everyone; whoever dared not listen would immediately be greeted with curses upon their ancestors. No matter how unhappy the mages were, except for those in front who stayed, the rest left one after another. Thorne, of course, was walking at the very front.
Because of the pain, the hand holding the staff trembled slightly, but he quickly suppressed it by force.
Four professors came toward them. They walked in a hurry, instinctively scanning the mages coming out, but other than the aura of irritability and righteous indignation, they couldn't see anything. Plus, being anxious, they waved their hands casually to stop the salutes and just brushed past them.
In the moment they crossed paths, Thorne felt his heart stop for a split second. Each of these four professors could duel a Carian Knight.
Fortunately, the professors were walking in a hurry and didn't pay any attention to these subordinates at all. The two sides passed each other just like that.
At the closest distance, Thorne's shoulder even touched Leon of the Haima Classroom, yet miraculously, nothing happened. He walked through the shattered corridor all the way to the outside.
The fire in the courtyard had been extinguished; the trees were still smoking, and Glintstone lamps illuminated the area brightly. Everywhere he looked, there were mages and puppets.
The commotion was too great, and this wasn't a strictly disciplined military camp. Except for the combat forces guarding the first layer, the entire Raya Lucaria Academy had rushed over. Some were genuinely there to help, while others were simply there to watch the excitement. As soon as Thorne and dozens of mages came out, they were immediately surrounded.
"What happened inside?"
"I heard a battle broke out. Has the intruder been caught?"
Voices were chattering all around. Thorne, while dealing with them, stood on the steps and scanned the surroundings.
Soon, he spotted Sellen in the crowd.
The Academy had more than one sorceress, but Thorne would never mistake her. The latter was standing behind a charred tree, holding her staff, like a leopardess ready to pounce at any moment. For some reason, seeing this scene, Thorne felt the pain in his ribs diminish slightly. If Sellen didn't come, it was only natural, but the fact that she came was a testament to her loyalty.
"Quiet, everyone be quiet."
A person from the Haima Classroom came out of the archives, stopping the chaotic scene.
Seeing everyone looking at him, he said loudly:
"By order of Professor Oritis, the intruder has been caught. Everyone return to your respective rooms; the Academy will issue an official announcement tomorrow!"
"Great! Someone must have been a traitor. Catch him!"
Cheers erupted. Sure enough, the Academy was still safe. Sellen, however, was stunned and instead moved forward against the crowd, her aura becoming increasingly cold.
She quietly raised her staff, pouring violent magic power into it.
At this moment, someone passing by suddenly grabbed her wrist.
That idiot apprentice told the truth so quickly!? Sellen was shocked, and in an instant, countless thoughts flashed through her mind.
Just as she was preparing to go on a killing spree with Comet Azur, the person leaned over, and a familiar and steady voice came to her ear. "Teacher, it's me."
Inside the archives, the fire had been extinguished. Only the morning breeze still blew in through the window, stirring up black paper scraps, and the morning light shone in through the broken roof, spilling onto the rigid, massive corpse.
Several professors stood beside the corpse, silent. An atmosphere called 'humiliation' permeated among the arrogant magic professors.
Oh, there was one exception: Seluvis, arms crossed, was watching the joke. Seeing this group of fools stunned was quite interesting.
"Has the intruder been found?" Oritis asked.
A level-two lecturer from the Twinsage Classroom walked over hurriedly and reported: "We have already had people go down to search, but no corpse was found."
"It would be a miracle if you found it. Below is Liurnia of the Lakes; the corpse would have been washed away long ago.
However, at this height, the lake water would be as hard as rock; it would turn into meat paste in an instant." Chelona waved his hand. The Oritis Classroom studied meteor sorcery and also specialized in gravity magic.
Everyone nodded. Unless that person could fly, they were undoubtedly dead. But so what? An intruder had caused huge losses to the Academy.
"One-third of the archives were burned, three hundred books were completely destroyed, and six hundred books were partially damaged. The specific losses are still being tallied." Sorceress Ella said in a sorrowful voice.
This was much more heartbreaking than emptying the finance office, and it might even affect the war against Caria. The professors were as miserable as if their parents had died.
Only Oritis suddenly remembered one thing:
"What about that notebook?" Ella pointed to a pile of charcoal, the meaning self-evident. At this moment, a loud 'boom' came from the side, and a desk was smashed into fragments by a fist.
"So who did it! To be able to bypass hundreds of mages and countless traps to reach the core, who can give me an explanation!" Leon roared in a low voice.
The Haima Classroom suffered the biggest loss. Losing Edward, a level-one lecturer, was so painful that he couldn't maintain a professor's dignity. Everyone was silent, clearly understanding his grief deeply.
Seluvis curled his lips. In the end, he didn't dare to mock him; otherwise, this professor would fight him to the death.
"The preliminary investigation is over," Oritis soothed. "He bypassed the perimeter, invaded the fourth floor, then climbed into the courtyard from the window, killing several people in a row. The movements were quite professional."
"An assassin? That's impossible!"
"It's possible. For example, he might have relied on an insider to infiltrate the Academy long ago. Our defensive strength here is not considered strong."
As soon as he finished speaking, the four professors looked at Seluvis simultaneously. The latter was stunned, his face beneath the mask already twisted. The Lazuli Classroom was highly suspicious. He was also the first one to rush in and expelled most of the mages, so it seemed a bit hard to explain. Feeling a huge scapegoat being dumped on him, Seluvis clenched his fists and roared, "You suspect me?"
"That's right."
Leon retorted without showing weakness, "The Lazuli Classroom has a motive. Whoever can kill Edward must be a powerhouse. How could such a person launch a suicide attack? They are most likely still hiding in the Academy."
"Then what about this note?" Seluvis pulled the note from Edward's forehead and waved it in his hand. It had only one sentence: In the name of Radagon, a warning to the rebels.
"You believe this? With that Lord's power, would he need to use petty tricks?"
Leon stepped forward, coldly saying, "It's just a diversionary tactic, trying to splash dirty water onto the Erdtree so we wouldn't dare to fight back. But except for the Carian Royal Family, who could do this?"
Thorne didn't expect that, by a twist of fate, Seluvis would end up taking the blame. He did have the motive, and the ability.
"I didn't do it. No, if I really wanted to go to Caria, would it be as simple as just burning one archive?" Seluvis let his puppets guard in front of him and roared, "Use your pig brain to think carefully. The mages who came with me were from various classrooms.
How could I spirit an assassin away?" Leon's steps paused slightly. That was true; with so many mages, even Sellia's Night Sorcery couldn't hide an assassin.
"Alright, don't talk nonsense without evidence." Oritis stopped the conflict. "Seluvis's laboratory is the closest to here, and the subsequent handling was fine. Although it's inconceivable, this assassin is very likely still hiding in the Academy. We need to step up our defenses."
Everyone nodded.
Thinking that this assassin could burn down the archives and assassinate any mage, they would probably have to sleep with one eye open from now on.
"Raise the defense level, increase magic traps by twofold. The Haima Classroom must conduct a thorough check of every mage. We must catch this rat!!"
The professors dispersed; the ruins really affected their mood. Seluvis was still walking at the very front. He stepped out of the corridor, looked at the Erdtree in the distance, and clenched his fists tightly inside his wide sleeves.
He understood Oritis's words; this 'rat' also included himself, and he couldn't help but feel a chill in his eyes. Even if many experiments were not yet completed, if it really came to it, he might as well just flee back to Caria.