NABC Chapter 196 Tearing Off the Disguise
Chapter 196 Tearing Off the Disguise
Chapter 196 Tearing Off the Disguise
An unfamiliar male mage led the way.
Kane followed at a distance, his gaze fixed on the other's back, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
But Kane was certain he had never seen this unremarkable face before.
The two were currently in the heart of the academy.
The Mage Academy, as an important institution in Sussas, occupies a vast area.
However, the mage leading the way did not head towards the mage tower area, but instead turned into a secluded path.
The stone slabs underfoot turned into mud, and bushes grew on both sides. In the silence, only the sound of footsteps and the wind could be heard.
After walking for about twenty minutes, the trees gradually thinned out, and the view ahead suddenly opened up.
A solitary little wooden house surrounded by a low fence.
"Lord Kane, this is the place. Please come in."
The male monk stopped, turned around, and bowed slightly stiffly in greeting.
His face was expressionless, and his eyes were calm and still.
Just as Kane was about to enter, the male mage suddenly raised his hand and placed it in front of him: "May I keep your scimitar for the time being?"
I will return it to you when you come out.
Kane turned his head and gave him a deep look.
The male mage's face resembled a mask, exuding an inhuman and bizarre aura.
After a moment, Kane smiled slightly, a slight curve appearing at the corners of his mouth, and said, "Okay."
He unfastened the curved sword from his waist and handed it over, which the male mage accepted with both hands.
Kane stopped looking at him, turned around, pushed open the gate, and went into the hut.
The moment Kane's figure completely disappeared into the room, the male mage outside the door slowly lowered his head.
His facial muscles began to twitch unnaturally.
The facial features changed, and the color of the flesh began to fade rapidly.
In the end, his entire face turned into a white surface with only three deep black holes.
On the other side, inside the small house.
Kane stepped into the room, the wooden door closing behind him with a soft clatter.
The interior furnishings were extremely simple.
Wooden walls, wooden tables, and an empty fireplace.
In the center of the room were two high-backed chairs, a coffee table, and a set of white porcelain teaware.
Light streamed in through the small window, and dust motes floated in the air.
There was no one there, as if the so-called invitation was just a prank.
Kane's gaze swept over the empty chair.
He bowed slightly, his tone steady: "Dean Bella, thank you for your invitation."
As soon as he finished speaking, the air in front of him seemed to ripple like a stone thrown into water.
The next moment, the figure of an elegant woman appeared on a high-backed chair.
It was none other than Bella, the headmistress of the Illusion Department.
She settled comfortably in the chair, her hands elegantly folded on her knees, and smiled, "Mage Kane, how did you figure that out?"
"Because, sometimes, you don't need to see things with your eyes."
Kane kept smiling.
"You called me here, surely you didn't just leave me bored in an empty room."
Dean Bella nodded with a smile.
"Please have a seat."
Kane sat down in another chair.
Bella smiled slightly.
The tea set rose into the air, the teapot tilted, and hot water was poured in.
Finally, a cup of black tea was gently handed to Kane.
The entire process was completely silent.
Kane's eyes flickered slightly, his gaze lingering on the black tea for a moment before he steadily took it from her.
In terms of precision, the opponent's control over "Mage's Hand" is no less than his.
Bella leaned forward slightly, placed her hands under her chin, and smiled, "Mage Kane, how have you been at the academy lately?"
"not bad."
Kane responded, taking a small sip of his black tea.
Seeing that his Adam's apple bobbed and that he had indeed drunk the tea, Bella breathed a barely audible, extremely slight sigh of relief.
She lowered her clasped hands, leaned back in her chair, and maintained her polite smile.
"Then, may I ask you a question?"
"Please speak."
"Why?"
Dean Bella's voice remained gentle, but she spoke a little slower, asking clearly, word by word.
"Why are you going to investigate so many things that have nothing to do with your own interests?"
The air in the room seemed to freeze suddenly.
Kane, Arundel's mentor.
She maintained that impeccable smile.
But there was no warmth in her eyes.
Kane sighed silently to himself, his expression unchanged.
He said, "What exactly do you mean? Please be more specific."
Bella smiled and said, "I think I've made myself very clear."
You have brought evidence, and we proposed to intervene in the affairs of the royal court through the meeting.
After everything is over, the Finafenne family will regain its honor, and you will gain my friendship.
Everything was perfect, logical, and everyone got what they needed.
As she spoke, her head suddenly and unnaturally turned slowly toward Kane, her eyes fixed on him.
The perfect smile combined with that empty, staring gaze creates a strong sense of incongruity.
"—As a spellcaster who should prioritize self-interest, why do you disregard my friendship and forgo readily available benefits?"
Kane said calmly, "You're right."
If I were truly just an ordinary spellcaster who only cared about gains and losses.
I will certainly accept your "friendship" and will not do anything unnecessary.
Bella's smile returned.
She even chuckled softly and shook her head: "So, can I take that to mean you've decided to stop meddling in other people's business?"
"I can stop."
But I still have a question in my mind, and I hope you can answer it.
Why did you do this? As one of the eight deans of the academy, your status, power, and resources are unmatched by almost anyone in the entire Susas.
Bella tilted her head slightly, her smile unchanged, with just the right amount of doubt: "So, you're convinced that I'm the one who caused Flint and Irwin to disappear?"
Mage Kane, your imagination is indeed very rich.
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Kane seemed not to hear the sarcasm and continued speaking to himself: "No matter how meticulous the plan or how covert the action, once it happens, it will always leave traces and have logical loopholes."
The timing of the two deans' disappearances was too coincidental, as it happened right after I met Arundel at Twin Harbor and decided to return to the college together.
As Arundel's mentor, you are the person most likely to learn of his movements from him first and make corresponding arrangements accordingly.
Guiding the subsequent voting process at the meeting should not be difficult for you.
"That's all?" Bella raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Of course not."
Kane looked away and continued.
"There are many details, and when pieced together, they seem strange."
Before the academy meeting, you seemed to have extraordinary confidence in my duel with Master Logan.
After all, I was facing a third-tier corpse servant. Even if the mage Logan was not capable of fully controlling it, it was still something that an ordinary second-tier mage could not deal with head-on.
Your attitude at the time was less a matter of trust in the help Arundel had brought in, and more a matter of—
It's as if they know more or less about my true abilities, rather than just the superficial information relayed by Arundel.
""
He paused, his gaze lingering on Bella's face.
"Furthermore, when we secretly returned to the capital, we were ambushed precisely in the passageway upon entering the city."
Why was it only the time Arendelle led his team into the city that they were ambushed, while the other mages entered the city unharmed?
The person most likely and most likely to leak this information is someone he trusts and is in frequent contact with.
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Kane bowed slightly.
"You seem to have always been detached, but the timing of all these clues and coincidences is too much to bear."
"You're too impatient, Dean Bella."
Bella listened quietly until Kane finished speaking.
She then gently began to clap her hands.
"Excellent, Mage Kane. Your reasoning and imagination are so rich that they could be written into a wonderful novel."
Her smile deepened.
"However, there is a clear contradiction in what you said."
If I really orchestrated all of this and intended to achieve my goals using your evidence, then why were you intercepted when you entered that secret passage?
Wouldn't that ruin my own plans?
Furthermore, Master Asler was precisely the victim of the "spiritual manipulation" from the Academy of Bewitching. Why couldn't this have been the work of his mentor, Dean Ling Shu?
After all, he was the leader of the delegation.
Kane shook his head.
"I was indeed confused about this at first, but I understood later that perhaps you didn't want the academy to get involved at first."
However, once the situation became clear, you ultimately chose to keep the academy in control.
Therefore, the two deans, who are skilled in prediction and protection, are clearly detrimental to your plans.
As for the mage Asler—even if he was under a bewitching spell, how could he prove that it was truly Dean Ling Shu who did it?
Dean Bella's smile grew wider, but it lacked any warmth.
"Therefore, Mage Kane, everything you have stated is nothing more than an imagination built on coincidence and speculation."
The logic may be self-consistent, but it lacks any factual basis.
Her smile was sweet, but her voice gradually lowered.
"So, without any evidence, are you planning to testify against me to the other deans based solely on these speculations?"
Accused of conspiring with the Duke and the Cult of Demons to murder a colleague?
As soon as she finished speaking, the smiling mask on her face vanished instantly.
Instead, he wore an expression that was a mixture of mockery and malice.
Kane sighed inwardly.
He looked at the Dean of the Illusion Department, who had already shed his disguise, and said in a heavy voice, "Now that things have come to this, can you tell me?"
What could make you, who possesses everything, take such a great risk, even going so far as to ally with the devil?
Bella chuckled softly.
She didn't answer directly, but slowly stood up.
She walked to the window, her back to Kane.
After a moment, she finally spoke.
"Master Kane, what do you think a true spellcaster ultimately pursues throughout their life?"
Kane raised his eyebrows slightly but did not reply.
Bella didn't seem to expect his answer and continued talking to herself.
But his voice carried an almost lamenting emotion and fervor: "For thousands of years, the concentration of ether, the foundation of the planes, has been getting lower and lower."
Now, even a spell of the fifth rank or higher is difficult to cast, let alone those legendary spells from the past.
We are trapped in this increasingly barren material plane, watching as the roads are cut off, and all that lies ahead is mist and sheer cliffs.
She turned around abruptly, her smile gone.
"But now, that person has given me a new path."
Since we can no longer utilize this increasingly depleted ether, let's abandon it completely.
Only by using the soul as fuel can one break free from the shackles of this inherently weak body!
Yes, sacrifices are necessary—sacrifices of some insignificant, inefficient souls.
But what you'll gain in return is a fundamental leap forward, a true power that transcends the mundane!
"That person?"
Kane frowned, his face grim.
He had already guessed that, besides the patriarch, who else could be so tempting to a third-tier mage?
It seems that persuasion through words is no longer very effective.
I never expected that such a high-level spellcaster would also fall into depravity.
His right hand instinctively reached for his waist, but there was nothing there.
Bella's gaze remained unwavering throughout.
She still wore that all-powerful smile.
"You are very calm, Mage Kane. However,"
She gave the small teacup a meaningful look.
"You've already drunk that special black tea. Now, is there anything else you can do?"
Kane gave a smile that was almost mocking.
Bella's eyes narrowed slightly.
"It seems I greatly underestimated you."
Her smile deepened, but it revealed undisguised malice.
"I saw your duel with Logan. Your fighting skills and adaptability are indeed commendable, but—"
Her voice suddenly turned cold.
"For me, that's far from enough. By the way..."
Even if you overestimate yourself and attack the headmaster, you will be killed on the spot.
I will still lay flowers at your grave in recognition of your contributions.
After all, you almost became part of the plan yourself.
The next moment, her figure, like a reflection in water, instantly became blurry and transparent, vanishing without a trace!
The high-backed chair was empty, as if no one had ever stayed there.
Almost simultaneously, Kane pushed off the ground and took a quick step back to the right!
boom!
The teacup shattered without warning! Shards flew everywhere, and several sharp pieces of porcelain grazed Kane's cheek!
Several deep cuts appeared on the wooden chair back.
Without hesitation, Kane uttered a clear syllable: "Mist!"
Centered on himself, a vast fog appeared out of nowhere and instantly filled every inch of the small house!
Visibility was completely blocked; it was pitch black.
Under the influence of "water manipulation," the water vapor in the air became an extended sense for him.
In the southeast corner, a human-shaped silhouette stood silently, but Kane's brows furrowed.
Because of the fog, three figures rapidly approached him from the outer edge.
In the next instant, three white figures tore through the thick fog, brandishing their weapons and slashing at Kane's vital points.
"Shadow Blade."
Kane's shadow suddenly lengthened, condensing into a jet-black curved blade, which he slashed heavily backward and upward!
At the same time, he slightly bent his knees and slid his body to the left front and right to avoid the two blade flashes from the front and right!
clang!
The Shadow Blade clashed with the metal weapon, and at the same time, the three white figures missed their attacks and did not linger in the fight.
They disappeared again into the thick fog.
Kane frowned, and a bloodstain appeared on his right back.
"Are you confused? My lovely servants."
The next moment, Bella's voice came from all directions—