The Vastness of Magical Destiny

Chapter 86 - 86 14 Murder

?Chapter 86: Chapter 14: Murder Chapter 86: Chapter 14: Murder Duke Tez’s face was gloomy as he carefully inspected the clearing. In the distance, one could vaguely see the knights of the Guard Cavalry holding torches high. The Royal Guards had already blockaded the entire area, and several Magic Palace Lamps floated in the air. Besides the Minister of Internal Affairs, there were only two other middle-aged men dressed as mages on the scene.

By their attire, the older man was clad in a pure white mage’s robe, with a uniquely designed silver brooch in the form of a three-headed holy angel in flight pinned on his left chest. A few Uding letters were embroidered at the hem of his robe with black thread, appearing rather blurry from a distance. The other man also wore a mage’s robe, but its color was an extremely common brownish-yellow, and he bore no markings to indicate his identity. However, the large Magic Wand in his hand had a somewhat unique style. The Magic Crystal at the top of the wand was a hazy earthy yellow, and seven apertures were arranged on the circular crystal cover in a special arrangement akin to the stars in the sky, a mystery likely only he himself understood.

“Lord Tez, when was Master Malone discovered to be missing?” asked the white-robed mage, his clear and bright eyes shining under the illumination of the Magic Palace Lamps, giving his face an extra pallor as if tinged with a touch of melancholy, making it hard to believe that he was the chief Archmage of the Church of Light stationed in the court of the Kingdom of Nicosia.

“Lord Onia, it seems to have occurred after dinner last evening. According to the guards’ reports, Magician Malone received a Letter, but he did not reveal its contents to anyone. After dinner, he went out alone and refused the company of the guards,” the Minister of Internal Affairs said cautiously. The relation between the Church of Light and the kingdom had been deteriorating over the past few years. Although, as per tradition, the head court mage was still appointed from the Church of Light, the proportion of mages in the court not affiliated with the Church had been steadily increasing, much to the Church’s discontent.

Archmage Onia, the strongest mage in the magical community within the Kingdom of Nicosia, was this unremarkable-looking middle-aged man. Aside from his amber eyes, which held a hint of uniqueness, there seemed to be nothing about him that conveyed the aura of a powerful individual. His penetrating gaze swept slowly over the Minister of Internal Affairs’s face. The white-robed man nodded slightly, “Do you mean to suggest, Lord Tez, that Magician Malone’s tragic end is connected to that mysterious Letter? Do you know if the guards recognized the messenger or saw any distinctive features of his appearance?”

Shaking his head regretfully, Duke Tez mused, “It is disappointing. Both guards only saw a man clad in a black cloak, and his voice seemed to have been altered with Magic Skills. They only exchanged a few brief words. According to the two, it seems the man deliberately concealed his face, preventing them from seeing his true features.”

Nodding, the white-robed mage said no more; instead, he turned and called out to the other man who had been inspecting the surroundings, “Mr. Kren, what do you make of this?”

The middle-aged man in the earth-yellow mage’s robe shifted his gaze from the large fissure on the ground and turned, “Mr. Onia, it appears a particularly intense battle took place here. Though a day and a night have passed, the scent of stirring Magic power lingers. You must have noticed it too; the person who killed Lord Malone is no ordinary opponent. I dare not claim much, but I can assert that the culprit includes at least one Senior Magician skilled in Earth Magic. Look at this fissure—extracted soil reaching three meters in depth. To be able to penetrate the ground three meters deep in an instant is not something an ordinary mage can achieve. Notice the dust and debris scattered around. It’s distributed in several concentrated areas, likely dispersed during Lord Malone’s counterattack, yet it didn’t completely shatter. This also proves that the opponent’s Magic power is already quite advanced.”

“Mr. Kren,” said the white-robed man, “I believe you’ve overlooked something important. This place harbors a rather strong essence of darkness, and I am certain that it also contains the presence of undead. Look, those two piles of whitish ash, they are the unique remains after the Church of Light’s sacred flames have purified them. These must be two undead creatures. Malone’s opponent must have been a group including a Dark wizard. Furthermore, although it appears that Malone died from an attack by Fire Magic, he himself was a master of Fire Magic; it is highly suspicious that he would die from it. What I cannot understand is who Malone could have offended so grievously to cause someone to design such a trap to kill him. Generally speaking, cultivators of dark arts would not rashly provoke members of our Church of Light, especially here in Versailles. You must be aware that the surrounding area is protected by both the kingdom’s Royal Guards and by court-appointed mages.” The man’s analysis was remarkably sharp, but the last few sentences seemed to carry an implicit message.

Listening to the court’s chief mage speaking in such a suggestive manner, the heart of the Minister of Internal Affairs stirred. Could the other party be pointing fingers at the kingdom? This seemed rather preposterous, but given the circumstances, it was not unexpected for suspicions to arise. In addition to the Royal Guards who were escorting the carriage around Versailles, there was also a group of Fire Shadow Knights responsible for protection.

Although Fire Shadow Knights were not comparable to the Church of Light’s Thunderhorse Knights or Holy Knights, these knights were not only of noble birth but had also undergone formal knightly training. What’s more, they had been handpicked from the top officers of the Cavalry Guard Corps. After being groomed with basic magical skills, all of them possessed some level of magical ability. To take their instructors as an example, some of them had already reached the level of Magician and the majority at least the level of Magic Scholar. It could be said that these individuals were the elites among the Kingdom nobles’ knightly elite, fully capable on their own in terms of combat skills, battle experience, and magical abilities.

Due to their different allegiances, the mages from the Church of Light were always somewhat at odds with the Fire Shadow Knights, but Duke Tez firmly did not believe this conflict could escalate to the point of plotting each other’s demise.

“Lord Onia, it seems there may be some misunderstanding,” Duke Tez asked seriously, “Could it be that you suspect someone from our own ranks to be behind this?” In an issue that could shake the very foundation of the kingdom, even a slight misstep could cause enormous trouble, so Tez had to treat the matter with utmost gravity.

Truthfully, Archmage Onia had his own doubts. He was well aware of Malone’s strength – even three to five Fire Shadow Knights might not be able to defeat him unless they attacked under special circumstances. However, how had Malone ended up in such a desolate place without any attendants, which was certainly cause for suspicion, unless Malone himself was confident in his ability to meet here. Yet how could one explain the arrowhead found within Malone’s cremated remains?

If it had been a duel between mages, it would be impossible for such an object to be found on Malone, and moreover, Onia had personally retrieved it from the remains of Malone’s ribs. Evidently, Malone had met his demise after falling victim to a surprise attack. Onia gently twirled the arrowhead between his fingers, pondering deeply.