Magician in Type-Moon

Page 664

The vibrations of sound waves alone possess the magic to slightly blur the boundaries of reality.

The woman stood silently, cutting off the flowing colors of the sunset.

She was bathed in the glow of the sunset, and even her elongated shadow seemed to have detached from her and gained its own independent life, transforming into something entirely different, more profound—

That might not be the shadow of an ordinary person, but rather the hem of Death's robe, quietly following and waiting for its chance.

"Princess Silver".

Matouchi accurately called out the name and title of the veiled woman, his tone calm and showing no sign of surprise.

Just a step behind her, a quiet maidservant stood silently by, like a guardian of her shadow, her posture respectful yet exuding an unapproachable aloofness.

“Miss Regina…” Matou Ike’s gaze briefly swept over the maid before he called out her name.

"........."

The one who accompanied Princess Shirogane, the surviving twin maid—

Regina simply lowered her eyelids further, her thick eyelashes concealing all emotions, and her tightly pursed lips refusing to utter a single word.

Instead, it was her master, the one behind the veil, who spoke in a voice as beautiful as heaven:

"Nice to meet you, Lord Matou. I have heard some of the 'rumors' about you." Her words were elegant and precise, carrying the unique tone of an ancient family.

"I suppose I don't have any 'positive' rumors to share with you," Matou Ike replied, a wry smile playing on his lips, as if he were quite self-aware of his reputation.

Faced with his wry smile, Princess Silver slightly raised her head.

In that instant, humans would have the illusion that the wind had stopped.

All the noise that entered her ears seemed to vanish suddenly, and even the wildflowers that were swaying in the wind on the grassland seemed to hold their breath, captivated by the true face that was about to be revealed, even if it was just a fleeting glimpse.

Beneath the thin veil, a face subtly revealed a charm somewhat different from that of the Golden Princess Tiades—

It has lost some of its dazzling brilliance and gained more of its tranquil purity—yet it remains an exquisitely beautiful face, isolated from the world.

"Regarding the deaths of your elder sister Tiadera—the Golden Princess—and your maid Karina, what... exactly do you know?"

The voice was not loud, but it had a peculiar penetrating power, striking the listener's body directly. It was not a physical impact, but an invisible aura brought about by pure "beauty," as if it could penetrate the skin and run through the marrow and the depths of the soul.

"First of all, please allow me to express my heartfelt condolences to the two deceased."

Matou Ike nodded slightly, speaking with impeccable politeness.

His tone was low and steady, and the grief it contained was clearly discernible, with no trace of pretense.

“…Oh, right,” he said, as if suddenly remembering something, his tone shifting naturally as he reached into the inside pocket of his coat, “this seems to be your sister’s personal belongings.”

He took out a necklace.

The pendant is a polished dark stone, finely engraved with ancient and intricate swirling patterns, each engraving seemingly containing some secret meaning of endless cycles.

At this moment, the surface of the stone and the fine details of the chain are still stained with some dried and darkened bloodstains, silently telling the tragic story it had endured.

He handed the necklace to the maid, Regina.

Upon seeing the blood-stained relic, Regina's body trembled almost imperceptibly. Her eyes, which were always lowered to conceal her emotions, widened slightly, and a fleeting, almost imperceptible pain flashed deep within her pupils, but she quickly suppressed it. She reached out her slightly trembling hand and carefully took the necklace, as if it weighed an ounce.

“...Thank you so much. This is indeed...something my sister never takes off.” Her voice was lower than usual, with a barely perceptible sob in it, and her fingers gripped the cold pendant tightly.

"The pattern on it has a very Celtic style," Matou Ike commented casually, but his gaze never left Regina's face.

"Yes," the maid confirmed softly, her thoughts seemingly drawn back to the distant past, "When we were born... Grandma..."

Her voice took on a rare, soft hue born of deep longing.

Just as the maid seemed about to reminisce about the past and begin explaining the necklace's origin and significance—

A chilling cold, seemingly piercing to the bone, suddenly swept over us. It wasn't just an ordinary drop in temperature, but a sharp warning directed at spirits and magic, silently penetrating the skin and senses of everyone present.

Matou Ike frowned almost imperceptibly, his sharp gaze sweeping across the seemingly empty space around him, as if trying to capture the invisible ripples in the air.

"Your Highness, the fluctuation just now... was it because Izeruma's defensive barrier was triggered?" His question was direct and precise, pointing to the most likely source.

Essentially, a barrier is a boundary that separates "that side" from "this side".

If its purpose is purely "concealment," then the most advanced barriers should be like water droplets integrated into nature, so that no one could detect their existence from the very beginning.

For a barrier whose very existence is unknown, even the most powerful magic cannot dispel it—this is the simple and flawless logic of the highest-level concealment barrier.

However, the barrier also carries another completely different meaning.

That is "protection".

It serves as an absolute barrier protecting certain important people or things located within it, keeping them away from all external threats.

Defensive barriers that react to specific magic or hostile intentions fall into this category.

Magicians often erect numerous such barriers on the lands they manage, which act like sophisticated nerve endings, serving as an alarm system to warn of approaching enemies.

However, a barrier that can thoroughly detect and react to even the deepest thoughts in one's mind is practically non-existent.

If such things could be used so easily, then crimes like murder, which require meticulous planning and concealment of intent, would simply be impossible.

In other words, the undisguised, even deliberately displayed, magical fluctuations that I just felt meant that the "opponent" had no intention of hiding itself, but rather clearly and hostilely revealed its fangs.

Chapter 689 Declaration of War

"Farewell."

Princess Silver reacted swiftly, understanding the meaning of this invisible warning almost instantly. She gave a slight bow, albeit with an air of elegance and obvious urgency, and then turned around.

As the veil fluttered, it revealed an unusually solemn atmosphere.

Maid Regina followed closely behind, and the two quickly headed towards the Twin Towers, their figures soon disappearing into the deepening twilight.

Matou Ike watched them go until their figures disappeared into the shadows of the tower—

A nearly transparent, colorless fly, whose outline can only be glimpsed under certain light, silently swooped in through the open window.

It landed precisely on Matouchi's outstretched fingertips, the delicate contact between the foot and skin conveying a flow of information beyond the conventional senses.

Matou Ike closed his eyes, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he were deciphering some kind of invisible code.

A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze shooting like a sharp arrow towards the dense forest that could be seen in the distance from the hilltop, his eyes becoming incredibly sharp.

"More than ten people? No, twenty... wait, the number is still increasing, it's over thirty?"

His whisper carried a rare hint of doubt, stemming from the fact that the scale had exceeded expectations.

"So many people, why did they choose this moment to attack Izeruma?" Arcueid blinked in surprise, his crimson eyes filled with incomprehension and doubt.

This cannot be simply explained by the word "coincidence".

An "army" of more than thirty magicians chose to launch an attack at a sensitive time when Izeluma had just experienced a series of murders, when internal panic was high, and when external attention was focused on it.

If this is truly a coincidence, the probability is so low that it can be described as a "miracle" in another sense.

"If this is truly a 'coincidence' that happened by luck, then there's no need for any 'magic' to explain it." Matou Ike's voice turned cold, tinged with sarcasm.

"The essence of magic is to deceive the laws of the world and painstakingly recreate a supernatural phenomenon. But if such negative and targeted 'miracles' could be performed at will, the world would probably have been completely eroded by this kind of malicious chance long ago."

.........

The land's manager, through his deep connection with the spiritual veins, instantly and clearly perceived that this was a massive bombing triggered by magic.

This is the Tower of the Moon, the heart of the Byron Lord's workshop.

In the center of the room, there was an ancient magic costume: a water basin.

It was a wide, antique-style ceramic dish, filled not with ordinary water, but with magical, living water drawn directly from the spiritual springs of this land.

At this moment, the smooth, mirror-like surface of the water was violently rippling with countless waves. The shape, frequency, and intensity of each wave clearly reflected the power, attributes, and approximate scale of the attacking enemy magic.

Although similar water divination or reflection spells are not uncommon in the magic world, such astonishing precision can only be achieved in a territory that one personally manages and where magic permeates every inch of the soil.

The Creation Department (Baru Yeleta) is a faction that is particularly skilled at manipulating and refining such magical costumes.

"Is this... a declaration of war?"

Baron Chin squeezed out this hateful whisper from between his tightly clenched meerschaum pipe teeth.

He remained bent over, staring intently at the chaotic scene in the water dish, his pipe trembling slightly from the effort.

As the head of Izeruma, he activated the water basin the moment the anomaly occurred, and now he is observing the blurry yet malicious outlines of the attackers through the turbulent water.

Because he could clearly see the size of the enemy and their undisguised manner of marching, he was able to conclude that this was an open declaration of war.

Otherwise, the other party should have approached him quietly, like the murderer of his beloved daughter, the Golden Princess Tiadea, and his maid Karina, relying on the magician's stealth, instead of making such a big show of it.

Rather, judging from the characteristics of most magicians, stealth and remote curses are the proper way for them to fight.

Just as many kings and nobles in history secretly asked magicians to cast spells and curses, the ability to take lives without direct contact was the greatest advantage of magicians in duels.

However, at this moment, the other side completely disregarded this basic principle and launched a frontal attack in such a massive and almost barbaric manner, which can only be regarded as an open and undisguised provocation and declaration of war.

He had considered that they would launch an attack sooner or later.

Like some of the magicians in the Clock Tower, they would not hesitate to use any means, no matter how ruthless or even despicable, as long as the reward was good enough.

However, it was precisely at this time, when a series of internal murders were occurring and people were filled with fear, that the problem came to them—

Bai Longqing's face was contorted with extreme distress and anger, but he had no time to hesitate. He abruptly straightened up and strode out of the workshop.

In the dimly lit corridor outside the workshop, two summoned magicians waited anxiously.

“Mao, Islo.”

"Yes, yes!" the pharmacist hurriedly replied, almost jumping up.

“…Yes.” The dress weaver responded in a somber, low voice, nodding slightly.

"Go and accompany Estella (the Silver Princess) and ensure her safety," Lord Byron commanded succinctly and urgently.

"...And what about combat?" The weaver, Islo, looked up and asked in a low voice, his slender fingers unconsciously rubbing together.

The head of Izeruma shook his head at the weaver who had asked the question, his tone resolute: "Your magic is not suitable for the battle at hand."

Bai Longqing left behind only these two sentences and said no more. He leaned on his cane and moved along the corridor as fast as he could, the sound of the cane hitting the ground echoing rapidly inside the tower.

He called out to another servant who was hurrying by halfway through the journey.

"Where is Lord Inolai? Where is Lord Balyeleta?"

"Lady Baruyeleta...she had already given the order to lock herself in her guest room, and instructed that she does not need any dinner tonight, nor see anyone," the servant replied respectfully but nervously.