Chapter 455: Terrifying Upon Reflection

Saul, along with everyone around who was still alive and conscious, was utterly shocked.

How could a proper Second Rank just die like that?

Penny flew over, cautiously approaching Jassim’s corpse, then hovered over the puddle of slime that was all that remained of Caron.

“Brother Saul, they’re both completely dead.”

Only then did Saul walk over and crouch beside Jassim’s body.

“No matter what, this Jassim was still a Second Rank wizard. What exactly was that time limit? How could it make him just drop dead like that?”

“Brother Saul, could it be what Agu mentioned before… something about the limit of life?”

“That’s certainly a possibility. But for something that concerns one’s very life, it’s hard to imagine someone being so decisive about self-sacrifice.”

Saul recalled how anxious Jassim had seemed back on the airship, looking like he was pressed for time.

Back then, had he already known his time was almost up? Was that why, after confirming Saul wasn’t his target, he immediately left to pursue others?

Saul reached out and grabbed Jassim’s left arm.

Just earlier, it was after looking at his left arm that he confirmed his time was up.

But as Saul examined the arm now—whether checking for mental shockwaves, magic fluctuations, or using his semi-immersive meditation technique—he found absolutely nothing.

“Maybe whatever was acting on him vanished the moment he died. And now, paired with the semi-immersive meditation from the Erosion Diagram, the anomalies it can detect are becoming fewer and fewer. I think it’s time to find a better meditation method.”

Even after advancing to a true wizard, Saul hadn’t yet switched his meditation technique. First, because he’d leveled up too quickly and hadn’t had time to search for a suitable meditation diagram. Second, because he was reluctant to part with the abilities granted by the Erosion Diagram.

Both the semi-immersive meditation and the soul projection technique from the Erosion Diagram had played major roles in his adventures.

If he were to switch to a new meditation method, it would be best if it also included these two abilities—or at the very least, retained the convenience of soul projection.

After all, the observational ability of the semi-immersive meditation could be substituted by the Nightmare Butterfly.

“Still, if I want to understand what exactly happened to Jassim, I have one more method.”

Saul stood back up, retrieved the tools used to draw magic formations from his pack, and began preparing a soul extraction ritual on the spot.

Well—soul extraction, not soul summoning.

As he began drawing, the surviving crowd around him—along with Lord Mayor Maken from the banquet hall—finally walked out, still visibly shaken.

At first, Lord Maken’s legs were so weak he could barely stand, needing support from his guards to move.

After years of living alongside the seemingly “harmless” Wizard Karon, he had long forgotten how terrifying a true wizard could be when it came to harvesting lives.

And how utterly powerless ordinary people were in comparison.

Even knights—great knights—weren’t enough to withstand a single fragment of a black blade from the skyborne wizards.

This world… truly belonged to the wizards.

He approached and saw Saul drawing the formation. Summoning his courage, he pushed aside the guard holding him up and stepped forward. “Lord Saul, what should we do now? Is there anything I can assist with?”

Saul paused, turning to glance at him. It was obvious from Lord Maken’s eyes that he was still terrified.

Saul smiled, offering some reassurance. “I’m fine here. Go help organize the others. That explosion likely alerted people outside the mansion too. If we don’t deal with it quickly, it might cause panic.”

“Ah, yes, of course.” Maken replied immediately, though his feet didn’t move. “Lord Saul, is there any risk of contamination here?”

Saul looked toward the black slime beside them. “Normally no, but I can’t rule out the possibility of it attracting something from elsewhere. I’ll do a basic cleanup, but I recommend you keep people away from this courtyard for the next ten years.”

“Yes, yes.” Maken agreed even more quickly this time. “I’ll have everyone evacuate right now. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to let us know.”

With that, Maken seemed to regain his role as mayor and began directing people to tend to the injured and remove the dead. Very soon, the courtyard was completely cleared.

And since this was just a guest courtyard, sealing it for ten years wouldn’t affect his operations at all.

Of course, if he remained uneasy about it, he could always just move to another building to serve as the mayoral residence.

After all, in Bluewater City, over half the houses were unoccupied.

Once the crowd had dispersed, Saul’s soul extraction formation was also complete.

He casually tossed the leftover materials back into his pack, then moved Jassim’s corpse into the center of the formation.

After that, Saul stepped into the formation himself, making a spellcasting gesture with both hands pressed to his chest. Instantly, white flames rose beneath his feet.

The fire flowed like waves—blazing at first, then gradually dimming.

When Saul opened his eyes again, his brows slowly knit together.

“Nothing. Jassim’s method of suicide destroyed his soul as well. Aside from some scattered energy, there’s no intact consciousness left.”

In fact, Saul could have tried to use Soul Fishing to catch Jassim’s soul at the moment of his death.

But… who knew what hidden dangers that might have carried?

What if there was a timed explosive buried in his soul?

That kind of risk wasn’t worth it.

A Second Rank wizard… was still too unpredictable.

“Jassim probably understood that too. That’s why he handed those pieces of knowledge directly to me before he died.” Saul once again sensed the tiny black snake inside his mental realm, still desperately trying to make itself invisible, and shook his head.

“Strong-willed man, part of a strong-willed organization.”

He stepped out of the formation and raised a hand, casting two fireballs to burn what remained of Karon’s spirit and Jassim’s body into ash.

With that done, Saul inspected the courtyard and the banquet hall once more, ensuring no wraiths had been born before finally leaving.

Outside the gate, Lord Maken was waiting with some men and several large chests, eagerly looking toward the door.

The moment he saw Saul emerge, he hurried over. “Lord Saul, I had them bring everything from Karon’s residence. As for his lab, the servants couldn’t enter and wouldn’t dare to anyway. Why don’t you come with us to take a look? If you find anything useful, please take it—we common folk have no use for a wizard’s belongings.”

This Lord Maken was indeed quick-witted—he’d already gathered Saul’s spoils of war.

But Saul suspected that, since Karon had been hiding his identity and strength, his official residence likely wouldn’t have held anything truly valuable.

As expected, aside from a few dozen magic crystals and some low-grade magic materials, there was nothing else of note.

The study notes clearly looked like they were meant to fool low-level apprentices. Saul skimmed them and tossed them aside.

After that, Saul firmly refused Lord Maken’s offer to stay another night.

Leaving the mayor’s residence, he saw Marsh waiting in a small alley across the street. Marsh immediately brought the carriage over.

Saul boarded, and after they traveled two blocks, the door opened and Agu slipped inside.

“Master, there was a strong magic fluctuation at the mayor’s residence just now, which vanished quickly afterward. I split up with Marsh to try and find you. After waiting for a while and seeing people come out to calm the townsfolk, I had Marsh wait at the gate for you.”

“Jassim showed up at the mayor’s mansion just now.” Saul recounted the events that had just occurred, then asked Agu, “Do you know what the time limit is? And what the Tribunal is?”

Agu looked troubled and shook his head. “This is my first time hearing of a ‘time limit.’”

“As for the Tribunal—I have heard the name before, but I don’t know the details. Both the time limit and the Tribunal seem to be terms from the continent of Nephret. That continent lies further to the south. It’s said to be rather closed-off and is quite far from the continent of Stat, so very few people come over to this side.”

Saul leaned his head against the carriage window. Through the gap in the curtains, he could see many townsfolk stepping out of their homes, looking anxiously toward the mayor’s mansion.

“If Jassim took his own life because he was being controlled, then that means the Tribunal can already extend its reach into the continent of Stat. But if he wasn’t under control… then thinking about this whole thing in detail… is even more terrifying.”

(End of Chapter)

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