There weren't many mysteries in Arlcliff City. By "mysteries," this doesn't mean rumors or old stories from the past, but real incidents that nobody could figure out.
Arlcliff City was well-patrolled and, for the most part, pretty wealthy. Even the Outer City was the same. Patrols were constant, and while there was plenty of organized crime, trouble was rare if you just stayed away from isolated places.
There were a lot of reasons for this.
The biggest was actually Takerth Academy. It's one thing to know that mages exist, or that magic is real somewhere far away. People usually only think about what's right in front of them. It's easy to forget about what you can't see, or convince yourself it won't affect you. But when you have a massive academy full of mages towering above the city—when you can see Takerth Academy before you've even entered the city limits—it's hard to ignore.
That sight alone is enough to inspire both awe and caution.
Who would want to cause trouble in a city where magic users live? What if you made the wrong person angry?
Of course, Takerth Academy didn't care about petty crime. Even after the war started and kingdoms around them fell, the academies barely reacted. So, why would criminals be on their radar?
But people still worried anyway.
As for the second reason? That would be the knights. Could a knight solve a mystery? Absolutely.
Say there was a murder in a back alley, no witnesses, no leads—what could the city guard do? Maybe they'd identify the body, notify the family, and send more patrols in that area for a while. But where most people would find nothing, knights saw everything. A strand of hair on a shirt that, at first glance, looked like the victim's, but was actually a different color in the right light. Fragments of rock in the victim's hair showing the wound didn't come from falling, but from being struck from behind. Knights weren't detectives, but the end result was the same. At most crime scenes, all a knight needed was a glance to spot a dozen clues others missed.
So, in the end, there just weren't many mysteries in Arlcliff City. Any that did appear were usually solved before they even got the chance to become mysteries.
That's why, when an old church—one half of the city thought was abandoned—was found destroyed overnight, it drew so much attention. There'd been no warning, no construction signs, nobody heard or saw anything, not even so much as a tremor.
So, how did almost an entire church end up as a pile of rubble?
That very question was what made Major General Arbarth's head ache as he sat alone in his office. His wife wasn't with him this time. A glass sat in his hand, the liquid swirling inside, but he hadn't taken a sip. Instead, he leaned on his elbow and sighed, his attention fixed on the report lying on his desk. Morning sunlight streamed in, bathing the office in a warm glow—a time of day that normally didn't call for a drink.
The report in front of him held everything they'd learned about the church incident: details about the scene, structural analysis, and the kinds of damage found. The investigators had done an excellent job collecting facts. But while the report was full of results, it offered no real explanation behind any of it.
"Was it a cult?" He wondered.
"The parts of the church that were left had plenty of furniture—expensive stuff too, not what you'd expect in a place people thought was abandoned. Then there were those cages in the half-collapsed underground chamber. Some kind of ritual gone wrong? That would mean more rogue mages..." Arbarth wasn't ignoring the possibility that this was linked to Nightshade somehow. He already knew Nightshade probably had a rogue mage—or at least someone with access to magic—after learning that Zeth owned a spell catalyst.
Neither situation was great, but he'd much rather have just one rogue magic user to deal with than several.
Finally, he took a sip and set the glass down, flipping to the next page and focusing on a particular section.
[With knights on scene to help investigate, mana abnormalities detected in the area suggest the use of magic.]
All magic, in the end, depended on gathering mana. If you imagined the world's mana as a vast sea, then casting a spell was like piling up a mound in that sea, concentrating and shaping it just right to cast magic. Once the spell ended, the mound would slowly settle, the mana spreading back out. But unlike water, this took time. Depending on the strength of the magic used, unless the mage took steps to hide their work, the traces could last for days, maybe even longer.
Because of this, the knights had been able to confirm not only that magic had been used, but that it was used on a large scale, all over the place, and at different intensities. That meant whoever destroyed the church hadn't just cast a single spell—they'd been in a fight.
"Not that it makes things any better," Arbarth muttered.
"The last thing this city needs is a battle with some unknown mage tearing things up." He leaned back in his chair and sighed again. He'd been struggling with this for days. The most obvious solution was to get Takerth Academy involved; anything magical was supposed to be their business, after all. But with the way things stood between him and the Headmistress, he really didn't want to reach out. And with the City Council meeting coming up, and so many factions lining up against him, the last thing he needed was to give them more reasons to attack.
I suppose I should count myself lucky. If this had happened before the northeastern region's problem was dealt with, there'd be no hope at all.
Just thinking about it made Arbarth rub his brow. That's when he heard a knock on the door, the sound echoing through his office.
Now what?
He sighed, straightening in his chair and fixing his posture before calling out in his usual steady tone, "Who is it?"
"It's Pezar, sir."
Arbarth's eyebrows went up a bit.
"Come in."
One of the double doors opened. Pezar stepped inside, shut the door quietly, and offered a salute.
"Sir," Pezar greeted.
"What is it?" Arbarth waved his hand, signaling him to skip the formalities.
"Well, sir, I thought you'd want to know that Magnus is here. He's asked to meet with you."
Arbarth's frown deepened.
"Magnus? What's he doing here?" Other than Magnus's return to Arlcliff City to update him about Mia and the others—and to deliver her letter—the two hadn't been in touch. It wasn't for lack of things to discuss; the timing just never worked. The situation in Arlcliff kept the Major General busy, and Magnus hadn't left Takerth Academy, at least as far as anyone knew. Reaching him meant going through the academy's official channels, and given the sensitivity of their talks, Arbarth preferred keeping things private.
He thought for a moment, then glanced down at the report on his desk. With a small gesture of surrender, he picked it up and set it on top of the stack of papers beside him.
"I suppose staring at this report isn't going to magically solve anything. Go ahead and bring him in."
Pezar nodded.
"Right away, sir."
Arbarth didn't have to wait long. Within ten minutes, another knock sounded before the door opened, and Magnus walked in, dressed in a casual outfit, with Pezar following a step behind. Pezar gave the Major General a respectful nod before quietly leaving, closing the door behind him so the two could talk in private.
Arbarth stood and motioned for Magnus to sit.
"I wasn't expecting a visit. I see you've gotten yourself some new clothes. They fit you, though their design is a bit odd. Anyway, have you been settling back into Takerth Academy all right?" As he spoke, Arbarth paused, after noticing Magnus's clothes, he eyed Magnus for a moment. Most people had already gotten an odd feeling around him, and now the uncanny valley effect had only grown stronger after his body changed further.
When Magnus first arrived, even Pezar hadn't recognized him until he spoke.
"Eh, well, it depends on what you mean by 'settling,'" Magnus replied, pulling out a chair and sitting down.
"A lot happened…" Magnus glanced at the piles of papers on Arbarth's desk.
"Looks like things have been busy here, too. Everything alright?"
Arbarth followed Magnus's gaze, letting out a small groan as he glanced at the paperwork. He tapped the stack and settled into his seat.
"Busy doesn't even begin to cover it, but I'm managing as well as I can, considering buildings in my city are at risk of being blown up randomly with magic now." Magnus nearly choked at that. Arbarth shot him a concerned look. After a second, Magnus patted his chest and glanced up.
"Um... buildings? Are you talking about that church in the Lower City?" He asked.
"You know about it? Well, I guess that's not surprising—this city's been desperate for news lately since it's cut off from the region. But yeah, it's been a real pain in the- I mean, a challenge—trying to figure out how to handle all this. We think it was done by a mage, maybe even two, who got into a fight. At the same time, the church itself is a mystery: no records of who owns it, who uses it, no witnesses. It's just a massive blank, and all we have left is a pile of rubble."
Magnus made an awkward face as he listened.
Arbarth just shook his head and went on, "Anyway, I doubt you came here just to hear me complain. So, what brings you here?"
"Uh... well..." Magnus hesitated, but finally decided to just come out with it.
"Actually, what I wanted to talk about is connected to that church—and Nightshade. To put it simply, the Jackals are gone. I wiped them out." The office fell silent. Major General Arbarth froze for a moment, his expression unreadable, before finally reacting.
"What?" He sounded like he must have misheard.
"Okay, so I sort of left out a few details about my run-ins with Nightshade. Did Alwen and Kolten mention the vampire we ran into during the first raid?" Magnus asked.
Arbarth took a second to recall, repeating the word vampire in his head until the memory clicked.
"Oh, right. They did mention you ran into some kind of monstrous woman at the Master-level. It was bad enough knowing Nightshade had magic, but if they had things like that in their ranks..."
"Well, you don't need to worry about them anymore. The truth is, even after I got back to Arlcliff City, they tried to ambush and kill me. That woman's name was Lady Austra, and she—and other vampires like her—were the ones running the Jackals from behind the scenes. I won't drag you through all the details, but they were dangerous. Pretty much immortal, too. Any one of them could take on an Adept-level mage or knight. The one we ran into during the raid is called a Hierarch. After they ambushed me again in the city after visiting a friend, I realized I had to act first, so I attacked one of their main meeting places."
Magnus glanced over at the stack of papers. Arbarth followed his gaze, and something clicked.
"Wait, are you saying-"
Magnus nodded, cutting him off.
"That's right. They were holding some kind of human hypnotism auction. I managed to save... most of the people there and handled the rest myself—including Austra, the one from the raid." It all sounded unreal. Not that vampires existed—Arbarth could accept that—but the idea that Magnus had taken out the Jackals? How big was that branch? How many connections did they have? The Major General knew better than anyone; the Jackals' existence was the main reason so many of his efforts to bring down Nightshade had hit dead ends.
And this Lady Austra—supposedly at the Master-level. If Magnus actually managed to defeat her, then…
It was just too much to take in. It hadn't even been a year, but the boy in front of him had changed so quickly. Whether it was how he'd gone from not being able to use magic at all to reaching the Pseudo-Master level, or those strange origins Arbarth was sure he was hiding, or his ever-changing appearance—none of it seemed natural. Still, whatever the truth was, the Major General knew Magnus was extremely important to them and their mission.
He was willing to cooperate, incredibly powerful, and the only mage they had on their side.
That left Arbarth conflicted.
He sat in silence for a while, hand covering his mouth as he thought things over. Magnus waited patiently, not saying a word. He couldn't be sure what was running through the Major General's mind, but he had a good idea of the gist.
Finally, Arbarth spoke, both hands folded on his desk, his expression firm as he met Magnus's gaze.
"I'm going to trust you, Magnus, but from now on, I need you to be completely honest with me. Tell me everything—from the ambush you mentioned, all the way up to wiping out the Jackals."
Magnus hardly hesitated.
"Alright." And so, he explained. It was no secret that Eveline had taken him as a student, so he didn't hide that. The only things he kept to himself were the Command Console and the exact way he'd managed to kill the vampires. Hiding the existence of the Nullfang would be a problem sooner or later, but revealing it would be an even bigger risk. The Major General would want details—how Magnus tamed it, and the threat it could pose so close to Arlcliff City.
Still, aside from that, Magnus was honest about nearly everything.
By the time he finished, the Major General was deep in thought, face a little tense as his finger tapped the armrest of his chair.
"And that's basically it. With him and the other vampires gone, the Jackals have no chance of regrouping," Magnus finished.
"So, the reason you came here is because you want me to deal with the aftermath—both the church and whatever happened at that mansion?"
"That's right." That was exactly why Magnus had come. The last thing he wanted was to be hunted by the military or Takerth Academy. He was pretty sure he could escape from a Master-level knight, not because they were slow, but because they were stuck to the ground. But if a Master-level mage came after him, it'd almost certainly turn into a fight unless he revealed who he was, and Magnus wanted to avoid that at all costs.
Arbarth took a deep breath, rocking slightly in his chair as he watched Magnus.
"Well. Given my position and yours, I should be arresting you right now. Not only did you act as a vigilante, but you could've put the public in danger. And that's not even counting how many laws you broke along the way. Still..."
Arbarth paused, choosing his words carefully.
"In the end, you did all of us a favor and took down a whole branch of Nightshade. Doing things by the book has been a nightmare, and while I don't approve of the risks you took—especially with your own safety—I can't ignore what you accomplished." Magnus could tell Arbarth was trying not to outright say he'd sweep everything under the rug. In the end, it was obvious the Major General was a fairly good man. He tried to stick to the rules, but those rules could be twisted by the nobility, most of whom had been working with the Jackals.
That made Arbarth's job almost impossible.
Now that Magnus had cut through the red tape and done more good than harm, Arbarth was willing to look the other way.
"I'll take care of the church and the mansion. As for your plan to find Nightshade's main base... It's probably best if you don't tell me any more for now, just to avoid unnecessary risks. I'll start getting the permissions needed to authorize a raid. When—and if—you manage to find them, come to me." Magnus nodded, perfectly fine with that. He wanted to handle Nightshade himself, but it wasn't realistic.
There were simply too many members for him to deal with alone, even if his main targets were their leaders.
With that settled, the mood eased a little, and Arbarth let out a dry laugh.
"You know, you really are a troublesome kid. You get things done, sure, but you're still trouble."
Magnus grinned, shrugging his shoulders.
"Yeah, sorry about that." A moment or two passed before Mangus seemed to remember something. He held out his hand and pulled something from his storage ring. As it materialized, Arbarth saw a stack of papers—two kinds.
Half looked like regular drawing paper, and the rest seemed like official documents.
"What's all this?" Arbarth asked as Magnus handed him the stack.
"While the second floor of the mansion was destroyed, the first floor and basement were left intact. While we searched for any vampires who might have been hiding, we found a list. Looks like records of their 'events.' I won't go into detail—you can read it yourself." Magnus's face darkened a little, but he pressed on.
"Anyway, it's a list of all the nobles they typically invite. I thought it might be useful. As for the other stack, I memorized a lot of the faces of people who were hypnotized, so I drew as many as I could. If you get a chance, could you check up on them? Make sure they're alright now that the people who controlled them are dead. Plus, I'm sure for a few of them, their presence at that church can serve as evidence for other things." Arbarth flipped through the drawings as Magnus spoke.
Even though they were only black and white, the level of detail was stunning—nearly as clear as photographs.
Wait... I recognize these faces. That's Lord Tybary of the Harrington family. And she's the Pierponts' daughter.
He moved on to the documents with names and felt his eyes widen. Nearly every name belonged to a powerful noble—many of them the very people who'd been blocking his investigations.
With this…
Arbarth's expression slowly shifted to a smile. He even let out a quiet chuckle.
"With this and just a bit more evidence, I could take down every last one of them," he murmured.
Magnus watched him, then asked, "So, will that help?"
Arbarth looked up at Magnus, a broad grin on his face now.
"Oh, absolutely. I think you just handed me a noose."