Night Raid

The next day, the night remained bitterly cold. The anti-freeze runes carved into the sorcery streetlamps glowed faintly, casting a pale blue halo that flickered at the street corner. The temperature was dropping, signaling the approaching days of snow.

Philina wore a light green, form-fitting long dress that accentuated her well-proportioned figure. Her fingers unconsciously rubbed the pale gold runes on her cuffs as the two walked side by side down the street.

A passing horse-drawn carriage stirred up a gust of cold wind. Judging solely by their height and appearance, they looked like a couple taking an after-dinner stroll, a perfect match that would make anyone envious.

As they moved further away from the academy, the atmosphere grew increasingly silent. Lizer clenched his fists, his feet unconsciously kicking the sorcery gravel by the roadside, feeling somewhat nervous.

A faint, elegant fragrance mixed with the scent of sorcery incense drifted into his lungs, stirring a strange trace of excitement in his heart...

Suddenly, Philina sighed with a touch of sadness. Student Lizer, I am sorry.

Hearing this, Lizer stopped and turned to look at Philina. Teacher, why do you say that?

Philina looked at Lizer in silence for about a minute, her expression hesitant as if she wanted to say something but held back. Her foot unconsciously scraped the ground. Never mind. What use is explaining?

She curled the five fingers of her left hand into a claw. As her fingertips sliced through the void, they left a trail of pale purple sorcery light, and the copper clasp of the deerskin pouch at her waist popped open automatically.

An unknown beast tendon, shimmering with a faint magical glow, wriggled and floated out like a living creature.

The pale gold runes carved on its surface lit up sequentially like the scales of a slumbering snake, each line exuding a faint, chilling aura...

The invisible force field of the Sorcerer's Hand wrapped around the beast tendon like thick black fog, and the frequency of the pulsating runes suddenly accelerated.

The end of the beast tendon split into three thin cords, shooting straight toward Lizer's wrists, ankles, and neck with a hissing sound, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

She felt that to deal with an ordinary person without sorcery protection, this beast tendon, capable of snapping refined iron, was more than enough.

Facing the sudden attack, the young man before her showed not a trace of panic, which secretly surprised her.

Whether through precognition or sheer quick reflexes, Lizer pushed off his ankles and dodged the beast tendon's first attempt to entangle him, shouting loudly, Save me!

Philina frowned, just about to continue manipulating her spell, when another change occurred on the scene.

With two muffled bangs, two silver-plated bullets accurately struck the rune nodes in the middle of the beast tendon, the energy hub of the Sorcerer's Hand spell.

The pale gold runes instantly dimmed like popped bubbles, and the invisible force field abruptly dissipated.

The beast tendon, having lost control, fell limply to the ground. The runes on its surface still flickered weakly, as if unwilling to accept defeat.

Lizer's body suddenly grew hot...

A warm aura of magical energy rapidly spread down his spine to his entire body. Every pore opened in an instant, as if countless tiny needles of light were piercing his skin.

This was Golia's Resistance Boost sorcery. Under the guidance of the spell, a mysterious power flooded into his limbs and bones like a tidal wave.

He could clearly feel the magical energy seeping into the outer layer of his skin like scalding wax. Every cell emitted a faint hum, and a dense, temporary structure gradually formed on the surface of his body.

This structure was enough to effectively resist the piercing of ordinary blades, but against firearms, thermal weapons containing magical gunpowder, he was not entirely confident.

This was Golia's rescue; her Resistance Boost sorcery was indeed reliable.

This defensive sorcery originated from the ancient inheritance of the Radiant Sect.

The caster needed to use their own magical energy as a trigger to cast it. The resulting magical membrane could not only defend against physical attacks but also neutralize the erosion of some low-tier sorcery.

The witchcraft attainments and reaction speed of this police department beauty were indeed trustworthy.

Lizer calmed down, watching Felina slowly retreat toward the source of the gunshot. Just as Lizer had expected, she stopped her attack.

Before the operation, Golia had bluntly stated that Lizer acting as bait was too risky, but he knew very well that danger could not be avoided.

If Felina was indeed the killer, she would soon continue her assassination attempts. Rather than waiting for the unknown, it was better to prepare the battlefield in advance.

On the other hand, Golia had created a psychological profile of Felina. She was not a bloodthirsty person; her motive for assassinating Lizer was to protect that secret.

If she realized she couldn't keep the secret, she most likely wouldn't resort to a desperate, mutually destructive act of madness.

As for why he suspected Felina was the killer?

The suspicious points were as follows:

First, given Lizer's past performance, approaching him to discuss procurement was abnormal in itself; such matters should have been taken directly to Patiff.

Her goal was to casually prolong their conversation to observe and probe him. Moreover, her urging Lizer to leave the academy last night clearly indicated she wanted to strike again!

Second, she deliberately asked about and focused on Lizer's situation that night, and paid unusually close attention to the police department's affairs, which had caught Lizer's attention at the time.

Third, regarding the fact that the sensing runes on the energy detector's dial had jumped twice and displayed a non-attribute reading, Lizer had specifically asked Golia about it and received an explanation:

If the other party was prepared, potions or witchcraft could eliminate the aura of necromantic magical energy.

If Felina could find a witchcraft item that purified residual necromantic energy, she could cleanse the necromantic aura.

For example, the exorcism potion Lizer had swallowed could expel a small amount of evil residue from the body, including necromantic energy.

Alternatively, alchemical runes with purifying effects, such as the Radiant Rune, could mask or erase the relevant auras.

If it were just that, it wouldn't be a big deal. Instead, the unreasonable undead auras appearing on Snape, Mary, and others seemed like deliberate misdirection.

Thinking in reverse, the instructors without an undead aura were even more suspicious!

Most importantly, based on Lizer's observations of Felina, combined with the knowledge of human anatomy and behavioral psychology he had unlocked through his paid system memories...

Judging by the width of Felina's pelvis, the shape of her hips, and micro-movements and expressions such as whether her gait was light or her limbs were stiff in specific contexts...

Lizer could conclude:

Felina was still a virgin; it was impossible for her to have a boyfriend!

Thinking deeply about this, her coyness when Lizer mentioned a boyfriend seemed extremely suspicious...

This prompted Lizer to carefully recall the first night he was murdered...

Lizer had seen the meeting between Felina and that man:

Walking toward the plaza on the night of the murder, he had hidden behind a witchcraft trash can, the cleaning runes on it rotating slowly.

He happened to spot Felina and an unfamiliar middle-aged man whispering closely in a deep alley, looking very intimate.

Out of jealousy, he had stared a bit too long and was noticed by the man. The man tilted his head and said something to Felina...

She immediately saw Lizer peeking at them, her eyes showing hesitation, guilt, and anxiety...

Based on the remembered scene and the past-life knowledge from his paid memories, he could be certain:

That was not her boyfriend!

When Lizer thought of this last night, his heart was suddenly filled with suspicion, so he made an excuse to refuse Felina's request for him to leave the school that night.

After leaving the office, he hurriedly described the man's appearance and build, asking Gloria to investigate—the Crimson Soul Principality also had a citizen information system.

But the man had no record in the official system, suspected of being an undocumented individual.

According to Gloria's official explanation, undocumented individuals were generally criminals, assassins, illegal immigrants, death squads of the elite, and certain special individuals.

Although the deeper underlying reasons were still unclear, this was enough to deduce the cause and effect of the murder attempt.

Therefore, Lizer, under the protection of Gloria, an apprentice wizard, arranged this scene of returning home today.

He didn't expect Felina to actually be unable to hold back and make her move.

Perhaps due to a past secret crush, Lizer still had some doubts about this:

The first assassination was decided on the spot, and she struck again just a day later; this decisive ruthlessness did not seem like Felina.

Lizer bit his lip, looking at the pitiful Felina, muttering in his heart: Just what kind of secret required such a high price?

Lizer looked at the desolate Felina with a complex expression. Her face showed a mix of sorrow, relief, helplessness, and despair:

"Such a fair maiden, why resort to crime?"

Felina revealed a bleak smile and gave up resisting, then closed her eyes, a trace of a tear quietly falling from the corner of her eye...

It dripped onto the cold, hard flagstone road. The anti-slip runes on the stone slab were dampened by the tears and dimmed slightly. It was as if the tear also fell into the hearts of the few people present, making her seem even more pitiful:

"I am sorry! It is all your teacher's fault. If it weren't for my sister, sigh... it is all over! I am sorry!"

Lizer's heart stirred. It really was related to her sister. He could roughly guess some of it, yet he had even more questions and confusion.

How did this beautiful woman, who looked so pitiful at this moment, resemble the ruthless and resolute person who wanted to kill him?

Was it an act, or had he gone soft?

Forget it!

If you want me dead, then we are enemies!

And enemies cannot be forgiven!

Lizer closed his eyes, took a deep breath, clenched his hands tightly into fists, and stopped looking at her.

He walked slowly toward the beautiful Deputy Director Gloria, who was holding a golden revolver, and asked softly, "Deputy Director, how is Felina's attempted murder handled according to the Principality's laws?"

Gloria stared intently at Perisman and the others arresting Felina, her fingers unconsciously tapping the rune-engraved pistol at her waist.

Although she was confident in her psychological profile of Felina, she was also afraid that Felina might fight back in desperation—

After all, she was not truly a weak woman, but a transcendent apprentice wizard, capable of killing with a wave of her hand.

Her fingers continued to tap lightly on the rune-engraved pistol at her waist. The runes glowed faintly with each tap. After thinking for a moment, she sighed:

"According to the law, attempted intentional murder is sentenced to life imprisonment.

Because she is an apprentice wizard, there is a high probability she will pass the wizard pardon application, but she won't escape a 20-year prison sentence."

Lizer raised an eyebrow. Wizards had such privileges?

He clenched his fists, scraped his foot against the ground, feeling a bit unwilling and worried:

"Then what if she comes to kill me again after she gets out of prison?"

Gloria cast an amused glance at him, tapped the pistol engraved with defensive runes at her waist, and shook her head:

"I couldn't tell you were so ruthless, kid. Trying to pull up the weeds by the roots?

You said yourself that she did it to keep a secret. Now that the secret is out, she has no reason to kill you.

Don't feel wronged, this world has always been about power.

The Principality's law sentencing her to 20 years is considered fair—during the Dark Era, wizards didn't even need a reason to kill people with witchcraft runes."

"You should be grateful for the Principality's strong protection of ordinary people!"

Pausing for a moment, she felt she was being too harsh on the boy. She rested her hand on the pistol at her waist, which was engraved with attack runes that radiated a faint heat, and patted him comfortingly.

"If you are ever worried, come to the police station after graduation. I will look out for you!"

Lizer glanced at the fiery and beautiful police chief, scratched his head, peeked at the pistol runes at her waist from the corner of his eye, and smiled.

"I am not easy to take care of, so I think I will pass."

Golia slapped Lizer on the shoulder, the sheer force making him stumble—her resistance enhancement had not worn off yet!

Her brows shot up, the pale gold rune tattoo at the corner of her eye glowing faintly as she sneered.

"Boy, do not be a smartass in front of me! You seem clever enough. If the path of a wizard does not work out for you, joining the police force is a proper path. Think it over!"

Lizer rubbed his aching shoulder. The resistance enhancement runes on her skin had not completely dissipated yet. That slap hurt so much; was the magical power of wizards really this fierce?

He sighed, his fingers tracing the patterns of the silver coin in his pocket, and said unyieldingly.

"Chief Golia, do not look down on me. How can you be so sure I will not make it as a wizard?"

Golia shot him a glance and shook her wrist, which was engraved with pale gold timekeeping runes. The runes flickered with the movement as she spoke.

"I understand the arrogance of youth. Time will make you face reality."

Lizer smiled mysteriously, his fingers making a subtle gesture. Not minding her attitude, he said confidently.

"Just wait and see! If there is a chance in the future, please give me your support, Deputy Chief Golia!"