Chapter 120: Forbidden Research and a Cold Corpse

Lia looked at Klein’s extended hand, then at his deadpan face.

Three gold coins.

For this price, at the Adventurers’ Guild in Leo City, one could probably hire a novice mercenary to act as a thug for an entire month.

Now, an Eighth-Circle Great Mage was offering his services for the same price.

The corner of Lia’s eye twitched uncontrollably.

She gave him a blatant eye roll and spoke decisively.

“Deal.”

***

In the early hours of the next morning, before the sky had even brightened, the butler arrived with heavy dark circles under his eyes, hurriedly knocking on Lia’s bedroom door.

“Eldest Miss.”

Lia set down the structural map of the family assets she had just finished drawing and looked up.

“I led a search of the entire mansion, specifically the room Philip previously occupied.”

The butler’s voice was a mix of exhaustion and unease.

“We found something.”

Hesitating, he took a small object wrapped in a handkerchief from his coat and placed it carefully on Lia’s desk.

It was a small piece of charred wood with a tiny bit of extremely fine gray powder still clinging to it.

“This was found in the gap beneath the floorboards under his bed; there were signs that those floorboards had been pried open.”

“Aside from that, everything else was just inconsequential personal items, which have already been sealed away.”

Lia picked up the piece of wood and rubbed the powder between her fingers.

The powder was fine and odorless, cold to the touch.

“Is there anything else?”

“Someone recalled that on the night before Philip resigned, his behavior was somewhat abnormal.”

“He stayed locked in his room for a long time, and later, someone saw a stranger in a cloak quietly leaving through the back gate. Because it was so dark, they couldn’t see the person’s appearance.”

The trail ended there.

Lia nodded, signaling the butler to withdraw.

Not long after, the head of the Adventurers’ Guild paid a personal visit.

He was a burly middle-aged man with a long scar across his face, yet his current expression was extremely respectful.

“Lord Lia, regarding the search mission you commissioned, our people have done their best.”

The man handed over a report.

“Our men found the final traces of the target’s scent near the sewer entrance in the south of the city.”

“However, the traces there were completely wiped clean by a specialized cleaning spell; every clue has been washed away. The opponent is a professional.”

Lia opened the report, and the contents were identical to what the man had said.

Philip, along with the funds he had embezzled, had simply vanished into thin air.

The opponent’s actions were clean and decisive, leaving almost no trail to follow.

This made Lia even more certain that the forces behind Philip were by no means small.

***

In the afternoon, Count Valerius’s carriage arrived at the Farrien estate on time.

It was the same drawing room.

When the Count walked in, the stride he habitually used to dominate the room faltered for a fraction of a second.

By the fireplace in the drawing room, a black-haired man sat casually in a single-seater sofa, holding a cup of hot tea with a relaxed posture.

Though the man’s gaze did not shift from his teacup, the air in the entire room felt heavy.

The Count’s pupils contracted slightly.

Great Mage Klein.

Naturally, he recognized this Great Mage.

Although he had only seen him from afar during a few major gatherings in the capital, he would never mistake that aura that viewed all things as beneath notice.

He had originally thought that Great Mage Klein was merely Lia’s backer—a protector in name only.

Yet now, this Great Mage was actually present in the Farrien family’s drawing room, participating in such a private meeting.

The Count’s estimation of Lia was instantly elevated to an entirely new level.

Despite the thoughts swirling in his mind, the Count’s expression remained unchanged; he maintained elegant noble etiquette as he bowed to Lia.

“Miss Lia, good day.”

“Your Excellency, please have a seat.”

Lia did not have a servant serve the tea; instead, she poured a cup for the Count herself.

“I presume you have already read the letter I sent yesterday.”

Lia pushed the list filled with material names toward the Count.

The Count picked up the list and read through it line by line.

He was not a powerful mage, but as the ruler of Leo City, he was intimately familiar with the names and general uses of various magical materials.

His expression grew increasingly solemn as his gaze moved down the page.

“Starlight Sand, Echo Stones, Soul-Condensing Crystal Powder…”

He muttered under his breath.

“These materials have different uses; viewed individually, there is no problem. But if you put them together…”

“Weber.”

A cold voice came from beside the Count.

Klein set down his teacup, his blue eyes looking toward the Count.

“Someone is researching Weber’s theories in your city.”

Upon hearing that name, Count Valerius’s back stiffened instantly, and a chill surged from his spine to the top of his head.

‘That is a cursed name in the history of magic.’

A mad scholar who dedicated his life to researching how to strip and graft human spiritual power and souls; because his theories were extremely bloody and inhumane, they had been classified as the highest level of taboo by the Mages’ Council and various royal families many years ago.

Any private research into his theories would be viewed as a challenge to the entire order of civilization.

“The severity of this matter far exceeds my imagination.”

The Count’s voice grew low.

“I originally thought it was merely ordinary commercial smuggling or a secret experiment by some alchemist.”

“This is a premeditated, organized operation. My family unknowingly provided them with several quarters’ worth of material supplies. The accountant responsible for this has already fled, and all clues have been erased,” Lia spoke.

“He won’t get away.”

Klein stood up.

“As long as he is still on this plane, I can find him.”

Count Valerius looked at Klein with undisguised awe in his eyes.

“Your Excellency,” Lia looked at him,

“I need the cooperation of the City Lord’s office. Lock down the city, and investigate all suspicious personnel and locations. If this matter is exposed, the blow to Leo City’s reputation will be devastating.”

“I understand.”

The Count made an immediate decision.

“I will arrange it at once.”

***

After seeing off the grim-faced Count, Lia returned to the hall.

Klein stood by the desk; he picked up the charred wood chip found in Philip’s room and rubbed it gently between two fingers.

“The magic the opponent used to erase traces was sophisticated, but when destroying evidence, there are always echoes of energy left behind.”

He placed that bit of gray powder in his palm while his other hand traced a gentle path through the air. Complex magic runes flashed at his fingertips for a fleeting second before merging into the powder in his palm.

“Found him.”

As Klein spoke, he casually picked up a blank sheet of paper from Lia’s desk, and a pen began to sketch automatically upon it.

Complex lines and nodes intertwined, rapidly forming a detailed map of the city districts.

A red speck of light flickered in an area at the southwest corner of the map.

“Near the slum’s garbage disposal site, in an abandoned warehouse.”

***

Lia and Klein traversed the bustling streets of Leo City and arrived at this corner forgotten by the city.

The scent of spices and food in the air was gradually replaced by a smell of dampness and decay.

The roads became muddy, and the houses on either side were low and dilapidated.

Finally, beside a massive, foul-smelling mountain of garbage, they found the abandoned warehouse Klein had marked on the map.

The wooden door of the warehouse was left ajar, but not a sliver of light escaped through the crack.

Klein stepped forward and pressed his hand lightly against the door panel.

Bang!

The entire door, along with its frame, turned into fine dust in an instant, exploding inward.

A thick scent of blood mixed with the burnt smell of magical energy wafted out from inside the warehouse.

Lia walked in.

A person lay on the floor in the center of the warehouse.

The light in his eyes had already vanished, yet his pupils remained dilated, staring fixedly at some non-existent horror on the ceiling.

There was a hole the size of a bowl in his chest.

The edges of the hole were as smooth as a mirror, as if it had been instantly melted and evaporated by some invisible high-temperature energy.

Not a single drop of blood flowed out; the flesh around the wound had completely carbonized, taking on a strange, black crystalline appearance.

Lia crouched down, donned a pair of thin gloves taken from her spatial ring, and carefully examined the corpse while enduring the discomfort.

She didn’t try to touch that horrific cavity but instead observed the edges of the wound.

There were no signs of tearing or compression in the tissue surrounding the wound; the carbonization at the edges was very uniform, showing that the heat had been applied precisely to a specific area without spreading too much.

She stood up and looked at Klein, a questioning look in her eyes.

Klein walked over to the corpse, his icy-blue eyes skimming over the horrific wound as he provided the answer.

“Annihilation Ray.”

“This is a precise energy spell that instantly decomposes matter into its most basic elements. Its advantage is that it is clean and efficient, but it requires extremely high energy-control skills and a relatively long preparation time.”

He raised his head and looked around the empty warehouse.

“At least a Sixth-Circle, or even a Seventh-Circle Mage took action—and it was a sneak attack.”

Lia stood up and surveyed the empty warehouse that reeked of death.

“It seems your three gold coins won’t be so easy to earn after all.”

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