Magician in Type-Moon

Page 528

She met his gaze.

It wasn't because she bore the name "Animusfia".

Rather, it was because she wanted—no, she had to—to have a clear conscience before that attendant.

She wouldn't allow herself to back down.

After a moment, the old man finally spoke:

"The letter also mentioned another matter."

"I need to... identify the successor to 'Animusfia'. If she deems her suitable, I can tell her something."

"...something?"

Olga Marie instinctively tensed up.

"I can only inform you after the assessment..." he said slowly, but every syllable seemed to carry a heavy burden.

So the reason he spoke up was because she passed that "invisible test"?

Or is this just a long-prepared, empty promise that, like her father's, will ultimately leave only a disappointed figure?

"...Come with me."

The old man spoke in a low voice, his tone seemingly calm yet leaving no room for refusal.

He slowly rose, picked up the intricately carved ebony cane, his body hunched, yet he did not appear slow.

Olga Marie quickly got up and almost ran to catch up with his back.

The old man stepped out of his study and into the almost silent corridor. The corridor was long and wide, with old tapestries hanging on the walls, the carpets alone softly swallowing the sound of his footsteps.

Despite the enormous size of the mansion, there was not a sound of any servants moving around inside the entire building.

The spacious room felt empty, and even the flow of air seemed to be suppressed by the old man's aura.

"To maintain a mansion like this, you'd need at least five or six servants..."

The thought flashed through the girl's mind, but was quickly replaced by a deeper sense of unease—

It's not just that there are no servants. There's practically no sense of "life" here.

The old man led her through the vaulted corridor and down a spiral staircase edged with silver.

A strangely shaped chandelier hung overhead, its dim yellow light slanting across the sculpted wall, casting the shadows of the two figures long like two silent ghosts.

Next, they walked through a hall filled with bookshelves and into a narrower corridor.

It was a closed space where even the air seemed heavy.

At the end of the road, he reached out and pushed open two heavy wooden doors.

Behind the door was a stone staircase leading underground—

Steep, dark, like a tomb that had been sleeping deep in the earth suddenly opened up.

"People say that the real 'clock tower' is actually buried underground..."

Chapter 581 Bilateral Investigation (4k)

Rufreus did not turn around, but walked and spoke softly, his voice seemingly blending into the stone wall.

"Of course... compared to 'Albion, the Tomb of the Spirits,' this is merely the surface of the surface... In modern times, clock towers have mostly been built on the ground... but ultimately, the original clock towers were structures designed to penetrate deep into the earth's veins. There lie... several sealed secret libraries."

"The secret library..."

Olga Marie couldn't help but repeat it softly.

She followed him down the dark steps. The stone bricks were cold and hard, with faint traces of ancient incantations on their surfaces.

With each step, the old man's cane tapped on the stone steps—

Click.

Click.

Click.

The voice wasn't loud, but it echoed in the underground passage like a spell, with a fixed rhythm, as if guiding some kind of ritual.

Olga Marie recalled a magic ritual her father had taught her—using footsteps and staff strikes instead of chanting, guiding the trajectory of the spell with willpower.

She suddenly realized: this was not a simple "pathway". It was part of a ritual.

This space itself may be a sealed ritual array.

The staircase seemed to have no end, and the air grew increasingly humid and heavy, as if it had sunk dozens of meters underground.

Finally, after a period of silence, an iron gate appeared in the darkness ahead.

It was a heavy, rusted iron door, almost blending into the stone wall.

The surface of the iron gate was covered with twisted and intricate spells, some of which were blurred, while others seemed to writhe as the light flowed.

When the old man tapped the ground twice more with his cane, the iron gate made a dull thud and then slowly opened.

The air gushing out from behind the door seemed to have been sealed for countless years of silence. As the door opened, a cloud of dust erupted instantly, as if even time itself was shattered in that instant.

Olga Marie quickly covered her mouth and nose, and the musty smell in the air rushed in. She could almost feel every wisp of dust turning into a wet, heavy sediment with her breath.

That decaying smell, like the fragrance woven from ancient books and forgotten memories, permeated the air and filled every inch of space.

Even so, a faint medicinal scent wafted through the air, mingling with the other ingredients, creating an inescapable sense of oppression.

She squinted and looked ahead.

With her enhanced vision, the scene before her became increasingly clear.

This is a little-known underground library.

The bookshelves stretched out in rows, densely packed and almost seamlessly connected, making it several times larger than any ordinary library.

The book covers on the bookshelf have become blurred, and the words engraved on the spines are almost illegible. The erosion of time has made them dull and lifeless, as if they have merged with time and become a part of dead history.

“This is…” Olga Marie asked in a low voice, her voice trembling slightly.

"Books specially transported from several underground libraries in the clock tower..."

Rufreus's deep voice seemed to come from the depths of an abyss. His tone was unwavering, as if the presence of these books was already an integral part of his life.

He cracked his knuckles gently.

In that instant, the tension in the air suddenly increased.

With a crisp sound, a white shadow gradually rose from between the bookshelves in the dim light.

Olga Marie's gaze froze instantly—she saw clearly what it was—

Skeleton soldiers.

It was a huge mass pieced together from countless withered bones.

Their joints are intertwined and tangled with fine, spiderweb-like magic threads, resembling the remains of some unknown life form.

Their bodies were twisted, their eye sockets were empty, and their hands were outstretched, like some kind of undead warriors that had been forcibly awakened.

These skeletal soldiers stood motionless in the gaps between the bookshelves, as if awaiting some kind of command.

When Rufreus lowered his head, his eyes shining on the skeleton soldiers, they slowly raised their heads and stood silently beside him.

This scene was not only horrifying, but also deeply unsettling and unsettling.

To an outsider, such a sight would be almost unbearable; an ordinary person would likely scream or run away.

However, Olga Marie remained unmoved. Her gaze was calm, yet subtly tinged with awe.

She knew perfectly well that these skeletal soldiers were not simply magical creations, but rather typical products of necromancy magic; their existence proved one fact:

The manager of this library was none other than Rufreus.

This is also evidence that he can use these skeletal soldiers—the "Euphoris" of the Spirit Summoning Department is a prime example of how to manipulate spirits to carry out slaughter and defense.

"This is also... a treasure of aristocracy..." Rufreus said casually.

“Originally, you would only be allowed to know these things upon becoming a monarch. However, given the extraordinary circumstances, you have been granted advance notice.”

A glint flashed in Olga Marie's eyes, and almost instinctively she asked the question that had been on her mind: "A noble monarch... then, did you also bring El-Melloi II here?"

The question came so suddenly that Rufreus seemed struck by lightning, pausing for a moment. A cold silence swept through the air until he finally relaxed his tense breathing.

Then──

A harsh laugh escaped his throat, sharp and grating like rusty iron scraping together:

"Giggle...giggle...giggle..."

The laughter grew increasingly unrestrained, seemingly tearing apart the solemnity of the entire space.

“That kind of thing…it’s impossible to get approval for. At least, Reines, who has El-Melloi blood, could barely be accepted…but someone like that lowly new generation…even if they were promoted to a priesthood based on a sliver of special talent…hehehe…how could we possibly invite him into this library…”

His voice was filled with intense contempt and rejection, a contemptuous emotion that pierced Olga Marie's heart like a sharp blade.

She knew that this was not only an insult to El-Melloi II, but also a reflection of the prevailing view in the magic world regarding the so-called "new generation."

However, Olga Marie did not completely reject the idea.

She couldn't deny that the idea, like a deeply ingrained poison ivy, had already grown in every corner of the clock tower and seeped into her very being.

She also grew up in this aristocratic environment, and through her surroundings, she was unable to completely shake off that deep-rooted discrimination and prejudice.

She swallowed the bitter taste that welled up inside her, but her eyes still shone with a calm light.

"Then... what exactly are we doing here in this library?" she finally asked, her voice like a cold blade, hitting the nail on the head.

Rufreus slightly raised his chin and then made a simple gesture.

He pointed ahead, and the skeletal soldier began to move slowly, like an ancient guardian that had been sleeping for a long time. Its body swayed in the dim library, its steps steady and powerful.

"investigation."

Rufreus answered briefly, his gaze sweeping coldly over Olga Marie, "In this library, we are conducting an investigation."

His tone was calm, as if it were just a routine matter, yet his words seemed to conceal some deeper motive.

The skeleton soldiers' movements seemed to have already unfolded according to some fixed program.