Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1528: Chapter 1526: Time for a Hearty Feast! (The Weather Is Getting More Unpredictable)

”—————!!!”

An invisible wave of sound erupted instantly, and the magicians at the forefront were directly blown away.

”Master!!”

Gray grabbed Lord El-Melloi II, who was almost knocked over, and looked around, only to find Luvia, Volga, and several other magicians already lying on the ground. Although they hadn’t lost consciousness, from the expressions on their faces, it was clear they were in no better condition.

”What’s happening?”

”Can’t move... ugh... magic crest...”

”Hahahaha!!!”

At this moment, the arrogant monk—or rather, the child of Ashurban, who was once a monk—stood up, raising both hands high.

”Severance City Adra, open the gate!!”

With his roar, the door opened.

It was a nightmarish sight as one spiritual body after another flew out from all the angel statues within the ancient castle, screaming and roaring.

”What is... this?”

Hana was stunned upon seeing this.

”It’s souls. That guy, whatever-his-name WEN, must have killed a lot of people and sealed their souls inside these angel statues... disgusting when you think about it.”

Hearing the casual remark from Red Ponytail beside her, Hana couldn’t help but shiver. If what Little Hong said were true—she recalled the angel statues she saw upon arriving at the ancient castle, on the walls, windows, pillars, doors, chairs, tables... if every angel statue represented a deceased soul, how many people had died here?

How many people had that Ashurban killed?

”Gray...”

Watching the swarm of Grudge Spirits rushing toward them, Lord El-Melloi II gasped.

”M-Master...”

However, the girl standing in front of him was pale, teeth chattering. Seeing this, the monk controlling the Undead couldn’t help but laugh.

”How amusing, Miss Gray, being frightened of the Undead despite being from the cemetery!”

”...”

Without saying a word, Gray silently extended her right hand, but at that moment, she suddenly froze.

Because Gray saw, in front of the frenzied Grudge Spirits, the girl with fiery red twin ponytails pulled a sword seemingly out of nowhere.

What was that?

A pitch-black hilt, a demon-like cross-guard, and mysterious runes inscribed along the silver-white blade. The sword shone with a faint blue radiance, but in that moment, Gray felt as if even her soul might be completely frozen.

”Hey, hey, hey, what is that thing, this is bad, this is bad!!”

A noisy scream came from nearby, but Gray couldn’t even find the time to respond to it. She just stared at the sword—just looking at it gave Gray a fear that her soul might be drawn in, captivated, imprisoned.

”Never expected to encounter so many Evil Spirits, but it’s fine...”

The girl with fiery red twin ponytails picked up the greatsword, taller than herself, and raised it high with one hand.

”If that’s the case, let it have a feast... Frostmourne, is hungry!”

”———————!!”

The next moment, a gale roared.

Like a giant whirlpool suddenly forming in the seabed, the wind swirled toward the greatsword, while the Undead’s behavior was even more surprising. They had initially been aggressively trying to reap the lives of everyone present, but at the sight of that sword, they looked as if they had seen something terrifying, desperately trying to escape.

Just like an army on the charge suddenly realizing a fire-breathing giant dragon blocked their path. The Undead turned around, screaming, waving their arms, attempting to flee this land of death. But their struggles were in vain; invisible chains seemed to have completely bound these frenzied souls. They were caught up and swept by the gale, flying toward the silver-white greatsword, then vanished into thin air with a scream.

In the blink of an eye, perhaps less than ten seconds, everything disappeared without a trace. The thousands of Undead that had haunted the ancient castle vanished entirely.

”Swoosh!”

The girl with the fiery red ponytail flipped the greatsword and plunged it into the ground.

”That’s it... well, be satisfied with something rather than nothing.”

She muttered to herself while patting the hilt of the greatsword, and the silver-white greatsword quietly vanished into thin air.

”...”

A deathly silence pervaded the surroundings.

Everyone was dumbfounded, seemingly unable to react, even magicians like Lord El-Melloi II, Luvia, and Haine wore bewildered expressions. It was as if, at the movie’s climax, as everyone anticipated the final boss’s entrance and the ensuing hard battle, the boss was casually slapped to death by a passerby.

The air... was filled with silence and awkwardness.

Yet regardless, this affair... reached its conclusion.

The next morning, everyone bid farewell and left Severance City.

”So, you refused my proposal?”

Fang Zheng crossed his arms, glaring at Lord El-Melloi II with ill intent, while Lord El-Melloi II hung his head low.

”I’m sorry, this isn’t a decision I can make; after all, I’m just an acting representative.”

”Alright, fine, I didn’t come away empty-handed, so I’ll let you off. Since you can’t decide, I’ll find someone who can.”

Although Fang Zheng couldn’t recruit the El-Melloi Family, Haine and Rosalind ultimately agreed to Fang Zheng’s invitation to join the World Tree of a Thousand Realms. After all, this trip was in vain; Ashurban’s secret techniques were clearly just a facade and bait. It’s obvious that if Ashurban was trying to resurrect his son, he wouldn’t hand over his secret techniques to outsiders. Moreover, after this battle, Haine also realized that magic crests were a fatal weakness for magicians—without Fang Zheng and Hana, they might have been wiped out.

Thus, partially to repay the life-saving favor and also to remove the magic crest from his body, Haine finally agreed to let the Ilvista Family join the World Tree of a Thousand Realms. To Fang Zheng, this was somewhat a gain—at least it wasn’t a wasted trip.

As for the monk being controlled by another spirit, Fang Zheng had already extracted the soul of Ashurban’s son from his body. However, because of this, the monk’s soul was shattered, and he might end up a vegetative state.

But that was no longer Fang Zheng’s concern.

”Excuse me... Miss Red Ponytail.”

Hearing this, Gray, standing off to the side, curiously asked.

”Will you be coming to the Clock Tower too?”

”Hahaha, not really, I’ll look for a place to meet separately.”

Facing Gray’s inquiry, Fang Zheng responded with a playful wave of his hand.

”I’ll only appear at the Clock Tower under one condition—when the World Tree of a Thousand Realms decides to go to full war with the Clock Tower... just hope you don’t see me there.”

After saying this, Fang Zheng turned around proudly.

”Hana, let’s go!”

”Alright, Little Hong.”

Watching the two figures walk away, Gray couldn’t help but swallow. Although what Miss Red Ponytail just said seemed like a joke, Gray could tell... she definitely wasn’t joking.

So... if Master doesn’t join them, will he and Miss Red Ponytail face each other on the battlefield one day?

Thinking of this, Gray couldn’t help but clench her hands.

”See, I told you, there’s no need for any deduction.”

Walking back down the mountain path, Fang Zheng yawned and spoke to Hana beside him.

”See, all these mysteries and inheritances are nonsense. In the end, it’s all tricks magicians play, turning suspense and deduction into a horror film setting, how does it feel?”

”To be honest... it was really shocking...”

Faced with Fang Zheng’s inquiry, Hana thought for a moment and then gave her answer.

”Honestly, before this, I never really thought about what kind of people magicians are, but now... I might have a bit of an understanding about their existence.”

”That’s right. That’s also the reason why Fiore sent you here this time.”

At this point, Fang Zheng cheerfully patted Hana’s shoulder.

”Observe, think, and draw your own conclusions. Preached slogans and studies can’t replace the results achieved through personal experience... of course, the premise is to have a proper perspective, and what’s important is to have the right stance. As they say, stance determines right and wrong, and if the stance is lost, evaluating the truth also loses its meaning.”

”But, it’s a bit regrettable though...”

”Hmm?”

”It just feels kind of... weird...”

Faced with Fang Zheng’s curious gaze, Hana seemed momentarily unsure of how to articulate her thoughts.

”...In short, it feels a bit odd...”

”I understand, since it’s different from ordinary movie plots, it’s normal to have such thoughts.”

Saying this, Fang Zheng smiled and winked at Hana.

”But, do you want to hear my answer?”

”Huh?”

”To put it bluntly, it’s not really a deduction or a suspense, just a third-rate emotional soap opera.”

Fang Zheng ”clapped” the book ”Ratziel” that he somehow took out, closed.

”A soap opera?”

”That’s right, remember what Sherlock Holmes once said, about the second victim, the old man in a wheelchair, who once did some research with Ashurban in this Severance City.”

”Hmm...”

Hana recalled for a moment, then nodded, and Fang Zheng showed a sly smile.

”In fact, that old man... had an affair with Ashurban’s wife. And it was after this that Ashurban’s wife gave birth to their son.”

”Oh....... huh?”

Hearing this, Hana first subconsciously nodded, and after a moment, she reacted.

”Huh—————!!!?”

”So, could it be that Ashurban’s son is actually...”

”Who knows? After all, magicians certainly won’t do a DNA test. Maybe he knows he’s been cuckolded but is unwilling to let go? However, Ashurban certainly wouldn’t just let the wife who cuckolded him off the hook... that strange creature you saw was created by him using her...”

”How could this be...”

Upon hearing this, Hana immediately felt a chill run down her spine.

”In a certain sense, it’s quite normal, really. Your friend slept with your wife and even had a child who isn’t yours. This would cause a bloody incident in any family around the world; divorce would be considered fortunate, and a death might occur. But because they’re magicians, the death happened in a rather peculiar way.”

Fang Zheng spread his hands.

”So I say, in essence, it’s nothing more than a third-rate emotional soap opera.”

Ultimately, Fang Zheng concluded their journey with this declaration.

The train back to London was just as dull and uninteresting. Sitting on the chair, watching the scenery whizzing by outside, Fang Zheng yawned again in boredom, and at that moment, she glanced at Hana sitting across from her—a black-haired girl leaning by the window, resting her chin on her right hand as she gazed at the scenery outside.

For some reason, Fang Zheng found herself associating her with someone else—a stubborn and awkward person with long silver hair and a white dress.

”Hmm? What’s wrong, Little Hong?”

Noticing Fang Zheng’s gaze, Hana turned her head curiously, while Fang Zheng just waved her hand with a smile, but suddenly a flash of inspiration crossed her mind.

”By the way, Hana.”

”Hmm?”

”I seem to remember... you have a brother?”

”Ah... yes.”

Though Fang Zheng’s sudden question caught her a bit off guard, Hana sat up properly before nodding.

”How’s your relationship with him?”

”Very good... I like my brother a lot, but...”

At this point, Hana clenched her fist.

”Recently, he’s been enchanted by a fox spirit!”

”A fox spirit?”

”That’s right, she’s also from our school, a thick-skinned fox spirit. She hangs onto my brother as soon as he’s a bit nice to her! Seriously! He’s even waited for her outside the school a few times! At first, I thought he was there to pick me up...”

Saying this, it was as if a wisp of eerie black aura emerged from Hana’s body... Hmm, it probably wasn’t an illusion.

This must be a grudge.

”So...”

Looking at Hana in front of her, Fang Zheng mischievously planned to tease her again. However, just at that moment, a light voice suddenly interrupted them.

”I apologize for interrupting your delightful conversation. May I sit here?”

”Hmm?”

Fang Zheng turned her head, and she saw a girl who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere standing next to them. She looked about thirteen or fourteen years old, with long pitch-black hair and wore a dress as pure black as her hair color.

And at the girl’s feet was a fluffy, white big dog.