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After quickly explaining things to Index, Fang Li left his dorm room.
The moment he stepped onto the pavement, a long, sleek limousine pulled up right in front of him, its door sliding open automatically like a futuristic elevator.
"Get in."
Inside the expensive car sat Stiyl Magnus, casually smoking a cigarette. Without even glancing over, he spoke in his usual cold, bored tone.
"This is my last task in Academy City. Let's finish it fast so I can finally leave."
His attitude was, as always, utterly unfriendly. Fang Li didn't take the bait. Without wasting a single word, he climbed into the car.
The door sealed immediately, and under the driver's silent control, the limousine began to move.
It was clearly one of Academy City's newest models, it glided forward without the slightest vibration, and within moments, its speed had accelerated far beyond that of an ordinary car, weaving smoothly through the evening traffic.
"Before we reach our destination, let's wrap up the fallout from last night."
Crossing one leg over the other, Stiyl, who looked nothing like a priest in his black suit and chains, exhaled a puff of smoke into the air and finally turned his gaze toward Fang Li.
"First, the results."
"Himegami Aisa was successfully retrieved. Based on the tests, her blood-sucking assassin ability seems to have completely vanished. By Academy City's standards, she's a Level 0, an ordinary person with no ability. In a short while, she'll be enrolled in one of the city's standard schools and will no longer be targeted by magicians or vampires."
Stiyl tapped the ash from his cigarette into the tray, took another drag, and continued in a detached voice.
"Next, Aureolus Izzard."
"That man is dead."
The air inside the limousine grew noticeably colder, thick with unspoken tension.
Unfazed, Stiyl continued his calm report.
"Aureolus Izzard originally belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, but for selfish reasons, he betrayed them. He imprisoned the blood-sucking assassin, seized control of the Misawa Cram School, and ultimately made enemies of both the Roman Catholic Church and Academy City."
The implication was brutally simple, having simultaneously offended the two greatest powers of the Magic and Science sides, that alchemist had absolutely no way of surviving in this world.
"Although that man was the first alchemist in history to successfully perform Ars Magna, right now only you and I know about it," Stiyl's voice remained indifferent. "If others were to learn of that fact… then that man's death wouldn't have come so easily."
Of course, if that had happened, death would have been a mercy for Aureolus.
After all, for someone who had attained the Great Secret Art that grants one's wishes, neither Academy City nor the Roman Catholic Church would have hesitated to subject him to brutal interrogation and torture to uncover its secrets.
From that perspective, death could be considered his release.
Naturally, Fang Li hadn't been the one to deliver that final blow.
Which meant the only person who could have done it… was Stiyl himself.
To this, Fang Li offered only a single, quiet response:
"I see."
That was all.
No outrage. No judgment. No sympathy.
"…Your attitude actually makes things easier for me," Stiyl said with a hint of mockery, watching for a reaction. "Though honestly, I thought you'd have more to say. If I'm not mistaken, you already know who Aureolus was in the past, don't you?"
"Yeah," Fang Li replied flatly, ignoring the sarcasm. "He was one of Index's former companions, wasn't he?"
In other words, just like Fang Li and Stiyl, Aureolus Izzard had once stood by Index's side, sharing the purpose of protecting that innocent, kind-hearted girl.
Both Aureolus and Stiyl had once fought desperately to save Index, only to ultimately be forced to watch helplessly as her memories were erased, surrendering to the cruel curve of fate and being made to forget her completely.
"Right now, it's you. Two years ago, it was me. And three years ago, it was Aureolus who stood by that girl's side," Stiyl said quietly, the smoke from his cigarette curling toward the roof. "After her memories were erased, Aureolus vanished. Neither the Roman Catholic Church nor the Church of England could find him. But judging by everything now, he never gave up on saving her, he's been searching for a way ever since."
That "way"… was vampirism.
"Vampires are beings with eternal youth and ageless lives," Stiyl explained, his voice dry and laced with deep-seated bitterness. "Compared to them, a human's lifespan is basically nothing. Yet, despite their endless existence, vampires have never had their minds collapse from the overload of accumulated memories. Aureolus's plan was to uncover that secret, either by applying it to that girl's body, or by having a vampire bestow her the First Embrace, turning her into one as well. That way, she'd never have to fear her memories destroying her again."
That was why Aureolus had wanted to use the blood-sucking assassin, to lure out a vampire.
Unfortunately, even if his plan had succeeded perfectly, it would still have failed in the end.
"After all," Stiyl said coldly, his eyes narrowed, "the reason that girl suffers this fate isn't because of memory overload. It's simply a precautionary measure enforced by the Church of England."
At that, Stiyl's voice grew dark and menacing.
"Even if she had become a vampire, those people from the Church of England would never have let her go."
But then, he sighed, the tension leaving his shoulders.
"Still… even if that weren't the case, Aureolus was only wasting his time."
Stiyl's gaze shifted toward Fang Li, piercing and direct.
"That girl was already saved, by you. If Aureolus had ever found that out, it would've destroyed him completely."
It wasn't just because three years of desperate effort would have amounted to nothing.
It was because, even though Index had finally been saved… the one standing by her side in the end wasn't him.
"So I killed him," Stiyl said, his tone flat and devoid of emotion. "Otherwise, his mind, his very soul, would've shattered beyond repair."
In other words, for Aureolus… death was far kinder than life.
Whether Stiyl had truly killed Aureolus, or had used some other means to make him disappear, to let him escape becoming a target of both the Magic and Science sides, was something no one could say for sure.
As for Fang Li, it wasn't that he didn't know; he simply didn't want to know.
And so, his reply remained as indifferent as before.
"I see."
A simple answer, so flat and calm that it was almost chilling.
Seeing this, Stiyl didn't bother speaking any further.
The limousine sped down the road, finally braking to a gentle stop at a particular location.
From the window, Fang Li looked out and saw it.
The car was facing a colossal, towering building, standing far higher than anything else, rising like a lone spear amid the city skyline.
But what made it truly unnerving was that it had no doors or windows, not a single visible opening anywhere.
As he gazed at the imposing structure, Fang Li narrowed his eyes slightly.
"So… it's finally time for the meeting, huh?"
What awaited him next might very well be the toughest battle he would face since arriving in this world.
A battle that might not involve blades or bullets, but one whose danger was no less than being cut apart a thousand times.
(End Of This Chapter)