Chapter 136: A Spark Ignites

There was no further communication between Weber and "Vanessa," or rather, the Source of Life, Erphine. The two walked silently within the crimson barrier enveloping Stevenson Academy of Magic, following some kind of unknown guidance.

"Here we are. Are you ready?" Vanessa turned to look at the silent Weber Lanchester as they reached the center of the academy.

"I'm ready. Keep your promise. Resurrection—everything I've tried only resulted in useless shells, but your existence gives me hope. As you said, when all the knowledge I possess tells me it's impossible, all I can do is turn to you in prayer."

Weber raised his head, his aged face revealing an indescribable determination.

"Have you finally made up your mind? I won't spare anyone in this academy, you know. This isn't just my will, but also that of my supposed creators from Selwyn. Beyond the strategic significance of destroying your academy, they want me to find a 'key.'"

"A key? Isn't that just a legend?" Weber asked, removing his neatly pressed shirt to reveal a surprisingly robust physique that belied his outwardly frail appearance.

"How should I know? You humans seem to love this kind of contrived affair. You think that these wild goose chases will provide a shortcut to your goals, as if working hard wouldn't get you there in roughly the same amount of time."

Vanessa spoke without expression, her tone flat and devoid of emotion as she shared her views on humanity.

"Whatever. I don't care about these things anymore." Weber shook his head and crouched down before Vanessa.

"You will achieve eternal life within me. You will also see the person you wish to meet within me."

Vanessa smiled stiffly as she placed her hand on Weber's head. Beneath his shockingly muscular frame, something began to writhe. A hole opened in his abdomen, and something crawled out from within.

It was hard to describe what it was—it looked like living muscle fibers and tissue. As they peeled away, Weber's body rapidly withered into an old and emaciated state. Perhaps this was his true form.

The flesh that had been stripped from his body crawled out, moving along Vanessa's hand and into her own body. As the extra material that had filled Weber's body was completely absorbed, so was his essence.

His body quickly shriveled and dried up, the light in his eyes fading. His entire frame continued to shrink until, apart from a head that still somewhat resembled the original, only a pile of dry bones remained on the ground.

"New knowledge? Let me see what I can gain from you..." Having absorbed much of the substance that had spilled from Weber's body, Vanessa held his head in her hands. More fascinating than his soul was his brain.

The face of the human girl split open, revealing a dense mass of tiny tendrils that wrapped around Weber's head and enveloped it. These tendrils showed no trace of magical or void energy—they were organs that had spontaneously mutated or grown from stored biological material.

"Let me see your memories."

"Boom!"

Vanessa's tendrils slowly entered Weber's head through its various orifices, piercing through the skull's defenses and invading his fragile brain. Though deprived of bodily support, his brain was still being kept alive by some unknown substance. However, a sudden explosion interrupted the process.

"Someone's still awake? I can't perform the ritual like this. I'll come back to read this guy's memories later."

A cavity opened in Vanessa's abdomen, now noticeably larger than before, and she stuffed Weber's head inside. She then turned her attention to the building where the explosion had occurred. Black smoke was billowing from its windows.

Unhurried, Vanessa walked toward the source of the disturbance that had interrupted the ritual.

"It worked! Somehow, mana doesn't work within the barrier. There has to be some sort of curio in play—I'll have to rely on wizardry now."

Weber Lanchester's study was in complete disarray. Books had tumbled from the shelves, some burned and charred. The carpet on the floor was scorched with a large hole, and the heavily sealed door had been blown off its hinges by a powerful explosion and now lay in the hallway.

As she emerged from behind the table she had used as cover, Avia carefully propped the unconscious Wendy against the wall and muttered, "I don't know what the professor is planning, but I have to do something."

After being trapped in the professor's study, Wendy had somehow fallen unconscious. However, Avia, protected by the mental defenses Wang Yu had given her at the manor, remained unaffected by the strange soul-targeting power.

She then witnessed the academy being enveloped by a massive crimson barrier. At first, she tried to escape the study by dismantling the seals the professor had placed.

But before she could successfully undo more than a few of the seals, a strange field appeared that locked away all mana within the space, rendering magical abilities useless. Avia knew immediately that only a curio could achieve such an effect.

The fact that the intruders possessed such a curio meant that they had to be none other than invaders from Selwyn.

She didn't know their precise goals, but it was clear they weren't here for a peaceful discussion.

A curio capable of nullifying mana would be the bane of all magicians. Combined with the void energy that had rendered Wendy unconscious, it was clear how much planning the invaders—or rather, the traitor Professor Weber Lanchester—had put into targeting the academy.

Avia refused to sit idly by. With mana completely nullified, the young woman had lost her most powerful spellcasting abilities, but she wasn't entirely helpless.

The anomalies in the surrounding void reminded her of what had happened with the evil god at her manor, and made it difficult for Avia to use void energy.

Even so, it wasn't impossible.

Avia's affinity for the void had continued to grow and mature. Despite the significant restrictions, she was able to forcibly seize control of that energy.

It was true that the restrictions made it difficult for her to replenish her reserves, but limited use of wizardry was certainly feasible.

As a skilled alchemist, Avia knew precisely how to leverage her abilities.

Weber Lanchester's study was a sturdy vault even without the sealing arrays in place. The iron door wasn't something an ordinary person could break open.

Avia had calculated that using pure wizardry to break through the door would consume over 30% of her reserves. Given the current conditions, replenishing that amount of void energy would take several times longer than usual. Using it without careful planning would be foolish.

Tollens' solvent, powder of calanthine ore, pollen of flameheart grass—to these simple reagents, Avia added a dash of wizardry to create an alchemical bomb. Combining the materials in an iron canister cost less than 5% of her reserves, and likewise allowed her to blow the iron door off its hinges with a loud explosion.

Avia carefully stepped out of the now-destroyed study and cautiously explored what lay beyond its rigid confines. The entire academy was eerily quiet.

Without the ability to use mana to fortify their mental resistance, the magicians had likely fallen unconscious like Wendy. She wasn't sure if the noise she had made would attract the attention of the enemy lurking within the academy, but caution was absolutely necessary.

Avia conjured a small Wizard's Eye and sent the construct out the window to scout the surroundings.

When she saw the image that was transmitted back to her, she frowned. A young girl walking toward the building, her target clearly the black smoke that had resulted from the explosion.

"How could this be? Who is she? Wait..." Avia was unaware of Vanessa's identity, but quickly noticed that something was off.

The girl's height was completely abnormal. She looked like a child barely ten years old, but she was already six feet tall.

Not only that, the Wizard's Eye that was circling above her from a distance spotted strange cracks on her head and neck. Something seemed to be wriggling within those cracks, making her feel a sudden sensation of nausea.

Suddenly, "Vanessa" twisted her head by half a revolution, then tilted it up. Her neck seemed to distort in an unnatural fashion as she looked up at the Wizard's Eye, which should have been invisible to ordinary people as a construct of pure void. She smiled eerily.

"Found you," she said in a strange tone, like an adult trying to mimic a child's voice.

Avia was startled but didn't immediately dispel the Wizard's Eye in panic. Instead, she quickly used it to lock onto "Vanessa's" position and pulled out the prototype firearm she had begun carrying with her.

Void energy surged as Avia rapidly created alchemical fuel and a bullet, directly generating them inside the barrel.

Standing up, she propped the barrel on the windowsill, aimed at Vanessa, and pulled the trigger to ignite the alchemical fuel.

The alchemical fuel exploded in the chamber, propelling the specially designed bullet forward.

The bullet shot out of the barrel at a speed far exceeding that of an ordinary arrow. Mid-flight, the bullet shattered, releasing a cluster of small steel pellets that struck Vanessa's head in an instant.

This was her gun's debut. Her handmade shotgun shell performed remarkably well; the explosion had a range of about ten meters, and had generated thrust powerful enough to blow a large hole in Vanessa's skull. Numerous steel pellets were embedded in the wriggling flesh inside.

However, the explosion, which would have been fatal to a normal person, barely seemed to matter to the young girl. The flesh on her head writhed, slowly repairing the wound and pushing out the embedded pellets through the growth of new tissue.

Avia quickly ducked back after firing the shot but continued to observe the situation through her Wizard's Eye. She gritted her teeth. This would be troublesome. Most of her offensive capabilities were restricted, and her newest and most powerful weapon couldn't deal enough damage to Vanessa, who clearly had regenerative abilities.

After her head wound healed, Vanessa leisurely approached the building where Avia was hiding. It was clear that she didn't take Avia's resistance seriously—and indeed, Avia would have a hard time harming her.

"This is bad..." Avia felt a wave of tension. She wasn't sure if she could handle this void entity. With mana nullified and void energy restricted, the only thing she could rely on was the "gun" in her hands. But would it really be enough?

"It has to be." Her eyes hardened with determination. She wasn't someone who could only fight with others to protect her. Under these circumstances, she had to rely on herself.

If it had regenerative abilities, she would simply add components to inhibit regeneration. Combustion—she would add solid fuel to the bullets, so they would stick to its body and cause continuous burns and damage.

The Wizard's Eye continued to track Vanessa, who was slowly making her way into the building. Avia carefully manipulated her limited void energy to craft the ammunition she had designed. A modified projectile landed in her hand, which she loaded it into the barrel.

The next shot wouldn't fire a bullet but would instead release flames that stuck to whatever surface they encountered. She didn't know whether it would be enough to outpace the regeneration, but she still had to try.

Vanessa was slowly climbing the stairs, a strange smile on her face. She didn't seem to care about the Wizard's Eye watching her.

Avia took a deep breath and held it, raising the crude firearm and aiming at the end of the corridor. As soon as Vanessa turned the corner...

Suddenly, before Vanessa could do so, space hummed and vibrated.

Avia sensed the fluctuations coming from the stairs, its source a Tarot card that had somehow been left by the corner of a wall. When had it appeared? Had she missed it?

In a flash of light, a figure leapt out of the spatial rift and appeared behind Vanessa. He reacted incredibly quickly, recognizing Vanessa for who she was in an instant. He kicked her hard in the back.

"It's him...!" Avia sighed with palpable relief. Confidence buoyed her body. Her finger rested on the trigger as she fought to stay composed. She would have to seize the next opportunity that arose.