Extra Of The Magus Academy

"[Heatwave Illusion]."

That was the Spell that Ash used to turn the tide of the entire battle to his favor.

This was, of course, a high-level Spell that followed the same principle as the illusions or mirages caused by an actual Heat Wave.

In cases of severe heat, it is possible for images to be distorted through the bending of light which then creates a blurred effect. However, this is only a small part of the illusion, as it relies on too many external factors and can only produce very simple illusions.

The second and most effective aspect of the illusion is caused by inducing the target itself with such severe heat that it affects their brains, hence their perception of reality through their optical lenses.

In essence… completely fooling their senses through the power of severe heat.

’My initial Spell… the torrent of fire… was done to create that condition.’ Ash thought to himself as he let go of his fiery blade causing it to dissipate in the air.

’Gerald thought he extinguished the fires, but Phoenix Flames can not be put out that easily.’

In actuality, Ash merely reduced the flames to the point where it seemed like they were put out. The fires were actually still burning all around Gerald, but their effects were greatly diminished, so they couldn’t be detected.

’Once he put on that armor and encased the flames within himself, I slowly increased the temperature and activated both stages of the Illusion.’

As such, to Gerald, it seemed like he was perfectly fine… but his defenses could not protect him from both stages of the [Heatwave Illusion].

’It’s a good thing I started with that, since it completely controlled the direction of the battle. If he had used his armor before I could encase him in the flames, things could have gone south for me…’ Ash sighed slowly. ’It would have gone bad if he had used [Fusion] too, or any high-level Spells that caused severe Area Of Effect Damage.’

This was one of the reasons Ash chose to fight Gerald in his office, since that would place some subconscious restraints on the Rank 6 Mage, forcing him to limit his strength in order to preserve some parts of his office.

’Looks like it worked to an extent. I was still in the room, behind his desk, and I was safe from all of the attacks he was throwing at my illusion.’

It was only after Gerald killed the false Ash and opened the door that he chose to make his move.

’By seeing the corpses of all the guards, he was bound to be put in a state of shock—something I could exploit to finish the task and finish him off.’

The reason he was so cautious was because Gerald—even if he was holding back quite a lot—was still a Rank 6 Mage.

His senses of Magia, even if they were distorted, were still on an incredibly high level.

If Ash made any sudden and careless moves without properly considering the consequences, things could end up going sideways—completely jeopardizing his plans.

’But… it looks like I don’t have to worry about that any longer.’

Not only was Gerald dead, but his Familiar also died with him—per the nature of their Contract. @@novelbin@@

Ash knelt down to confirm this, and he found it to be true.

’With his Soul being extinguished by my flames, his Familiar was also consumed and died within the collapsing Soul.’ Ash smiled to himself. ’No matter how powerful a Familiar is, they are incredibly vulnerable in the Soul.’

With this, there would be no witnesses to his crime and everything would lead to a dead end.

’Of course, the only loose end I had to worry about was the footage recording that was bound to exist in his office and the hallway, but… Dustan is taking care of that for me.’

Once Dustan destroyed the mainframe that held the footage of the entire building, no one would be able to trace the entire act to him.

That wasn’t all… but Ash didn’t want to go any further in his thoughts.

He simply wanted to leave.

Slowly rising to his feet, he lifted his eyes to the hallway, allowing himself to take in the gory sight of the corpses that were spread around the area.

Unfortunately, they were no illusion.

Each and every one of them had been killed brutally by him, all for the goal he could no longer ignore. Ash sighed, shaking his head as he began to walk through the hallway, ignoring the grotesque landscape of his creation.

’There’s one more thing I have to take care of… and after that, I can finally rest in my room.’

It was a school night, after all.

*************

[The Next Day]

As usual, the Lectures in Alpha Class were intense and filled with a lot of information to sort through. The Instructors took their jobs very seriously, and they ensured to impart their students with as much information as possible to ensure they had a bright future as Mages.

"That concludes my lecture for today… any questions?"

A few hands were raised once the lecturer threw the floor to the class, causing the middle-aged man to smile and nod in satisfaction.

Students having questions showed a certain level of interest in the class.

That would give any instructor joy.

As the classes were in the midst of the Q and A session, Ash watched in stoic silence, hiding his slight impatience. They had already been through a few lectures for the day, and only one more remained once this class was concluded.

He had expected news of Gerald’s demise, and the natural consequence to follow, to have already reached their class.

However, there was nothing thus far.

It made him slightly on edge, though he refused to show anything of the sort.

Instead, he remained as stoic as an oaf, ignoring the occasional stares from Elma and his twin brother Seth—the only two people who paid him any modicum of attention.

There was also Arius Inkwell, the Alpha Student who was humiliated by Elma and Seth when Ashfelt returned to Alpha Class after his Re-Entrance, but the boy was very dedicated to his studies so he usually allowed no distractions in lectures.

Hence, even though he also paid some attention to Ash, he never glanced at him during classes.

’Will nothing really happen today?’ Ash wondered to himself as he let his cheek rest on his palm, supporting the weight of his head by placing his elbow on the table.

Almost as soon as he thought this, though, a sudden noise rippled through the hallway and not too long after, the door of the classroom flung wide open.

The moment this happened, Ash’s eyes glimmered with relief, though he made sure to hide it.

"W-what is going on here? What’s the meaning of this?!"

The lecturer was flustered by the sudden appearance of several men in black cloaks—all of them making way for a man with long ashen hair and an eyepatch that covered one of his eyes.

He was dressed in a dark cloak, having silver designs all around his elegant attire.

As soon as the man walked into the Alpha Classroom, the Instructor froze.

His face instantly paled once he recognized the person who had just stepped into the class—a legendary figure who only appeared once a matter of utmost urgency that affected the security of the Academy arose.

"S-Special Head Of Security… Sir Raven Nightshade!"

Ash maintained an expression of shock, the same as all the other students, but he was happy to see the man before him.

It showed that the Academy’s Board Members were taking the incident as seriously as he wanted them to.

The mysterious man—Raven Nightshade—ignored the words of the Instructor.

Instead, he took a step forward and scanned the Alpha Students, most of whom were stupefied by the presence of an entity popularly referred to as a myth.

Raven Nightshade and the Order Of Shadows were usually thought to be an urban legend of the Akashic Magus Academy, considering how very little was known about them. It is said that they only made a move when the core safety of the Academy was threatened, but since such events hardly ever happened, most students had never seen them.

In fact, this was the first time they had surfaced in over a decade.

The Order Of Shadows didn’t even make a move during the White Death Incident, which showed just how selective they were when it came to the cases they took up.

"I have come here because the Head Of Student Affairs is dead, alongside over a hundred guards stationed all over the Staff Quarters who valiantly risked their lives to protect him."

Silence… absolute dreadful silence permeated the audience.

"Despite their best attempt to cover their tracks and hide the evidence, we have already identified the culprit… and it is a student of this class."

Raven Nightshade’s gaze rested on a single student, whose face depicted just as much shock as it showed confusion.

"Elma… you are to come with us for the murder of Master Gerald Lockwood."