Magician in Type-Moon

Page 674

Shirou's breath rhythmically formed white mist in the rain, his body leaning slightly forward like a cheetah poised to pounce. "...Is that even a question?"

His hind legs thrust forward with tremendous force, his boots carving two deep furrows in the mud. Six black keys appeared simultaneously between his fingers, their sharp edges tracing cold arcs in the rain, each one precisely targeting Shion's vital points.

“A very brave choice.” Shion tilted her head slightly, her silver hair fluttering in the wind. “Want to buy time for your companions to retreat? But do you really think that one person alone can hold me back?”

"How will you know if you don't try it?"

Ziyuan let out a soft sigh, a sigh that carried a hint of genuine regret:

“...Occasionally you encounter such stubbornly adorable fools.” A complex emotion flashed in her eyes, not the look of a hunter looking at its prey, but rather like admiring a work of art on the verge of breaking.

She suddenly turned to the side and gestured to Atram beside her, "You go first."

Atram was visibly taken aback, his brow furrowing: "...Is this really okay?"

"Within the scope of the current mandate, I have no need to be your enemy."

Ziyuan's tone was as calm as if she were stating a perfectly ordinary fact.

Atram's expression changed several times, and finally, as if he had made up his mind, he irritably kicked his men who were lying on the ground awake.

Tiny sparks of electricity danced at his fingertips, stimulating the unconscious attackers to regain consciousness like smelling salts.

"Let's go," he commanded curtly, his gaze sweeping warily over Shirou as he prepared to lead his men to continue the pursuit of Lord Byron.

"--Stop right there."

Shirou's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable firmness.

"I haven't agreed to let you pass yet."

At this moment, Shirou seemed to grow even taller, raindrops sliding down his resolute face, his eyes shining brightly in the gloomy weather, burning with an almost fiery fighting spirit.

“What a reliable knight,” Ziyuan murmured, her voice almost drowned out by the sound of the rain.

"Although I think you should reconsider whether the object you are protecting is worth such a sacrifice."

Before she could finish speaking, Shirou's "Mind's Eye" had already issued its highest-level alarm—

Within just a few dozen seconds of their conversation, the ground within a radius of more than ten meters was completely covered by countless thin Ethernet optical fibers.

These threads, like living silver vines, wriggled slightly in the mud, forming a deadly net.

What's even more alarming is that Shion is certain that she could never have set up such a large-scale trap in full view of everyone.

A chilling fear instantly gripped his heart.

Almost instinctively, Shirou's leg muscles tensed instantly, and his body, honed through countless trials by the Church's secret techniques, unleashed astonishing power.

Even the simplest jumping technique would be enough for him to escape this death zone before most of the magic was completed.

But just as his feet were about to leave the ground, the ethereal fibers rose up simultaneously, as if they had anticipated this—

Thousands upon thousands of silver threads, like living tentacles, wove a net in the rain, each one, under Ziyuan's exquisite control, sealing off all possible escape routes for him.

Chapter 700 Escape (4k)

Just as Shirou's leg muscles tensed, and his body was about to break free from the constraints of gravity—

Countless Ethernet fibers, like living silver serpents, suddenly rose from the mud.

These delicate threads gleamed ominously in the rain, instantly weaving into a net that transformed the entire space into a deadly prison.

"Ugh—!"

A heavy force suddenly gripped his right ankle.

Shirou immediately realized that it was the hand of an attacker who should have been unconscious. The hand was so cold it didn't seem alive, but the knuckles gripped his ankle like iron clamps, and the nails even dug deep into his flesh through his trousers.

The attacker's face was still half buried in the mud, but his open eyes gleamed with a strange, manipulated light—clearly, he had been implanted with some kind of forced action command while unconscious.

It was this seemingly insignificant delay that made his jump a fatal moment slower.

The web of death, composed of ethereal fibers, had shrunk to his sight, the closest thread no more than an inch from his eyeballs. Shirou could even see the magical glow flowing along each fiber and feel the sharp edges about to pierce his skin.

“Success.” Ziyuan murmured to herself, her fingertips gracefully lifting as if manipulating a marionette.

At this critical moment——

"Keng!"

A flash of silver light flashed.

Matouchi's mind raced on the possibility of a "locked room".

Ultimately, for magicians, the "secret room" can be created indefinitely.

He calmly analyzed: There are various kinds of curses that can be manipulated from a distance, and their principles are completely different.

For example, it is not difficult to use water elements to precisely manipulate the blood in a victim's brain, causing cerebral infarction; or to leave too much fire element near the heart, causing severe myocardial infarction.

These can all create the illusion of an "internal disease".

Of course, in this example, the other party also possesses extremely high magical skills and defense mechanisms. He immediately corrected himself, so this kind of simple curse will not be as easy to take effect as the example I just gave, and the success rate is very low.

However, this still shows that the concept of a "locked room" has long since strayed from its original meaning of "absolutely impossible crime" in ordinary detective novels.

In that case, a traditional detective, thinking based on the laws of physics, would probably deduce that this 'locked room' is more likely a 'coincidence'.

He concluded that it wasn't a deliberate, meticulously planned core trick by the killer, but rather that the "locked room" situation likely arose "by chance" during or after the crime.

This 'coincidence' might actually connect to the killer's modus operandi, habits, or some unconscious behavioral pattern, becoming a crucial clue—

However, his reasoning was interrupted by another abrupt discovery that seemed out of place at the bloody scene.

Because when he examined the room layout, he didn't see any of the items that women, especially those who care about their appearance, would almost always have in their rooms.

He subconsciously whispered:

"...Why...is there no mirror?"

Neither on the dressing table nor on the walls were there any mirrors that could reflect an image. This seemed extremely unnatural in a young girl's room that pursued "ultimate beauty."

Hearing my whisper, Inola took a sip of her wine and said in a languid tone, as if she had seen through the world:

"At this point... she probably doesn't even want to see her own face anymore, right?"

Matou Ike frowned slightly and raised a reasonable question:

"Generally speaking, wouldn't someone who is so stunningly beautiful become extremely narcissistic and obsessed with their own reflection?"

This is not something to be condemned; it's simply human nature.

The same applies to art. When beauty is explored to the point of perfection, like that of the Golden Princess, it is impossible for people to get tired of it.

He thought to himself that people who longed to see that face for the rest of their lives until they died would probably form a long line in the blink of an eye.

Some fanatical believers might even call that procession the stairway to heaven—

Or perhaps it's the thirteen steps leading to the execution platform.

A chilling thought quietly crept in.

Upon hearing this, Inole let out a low, hoarse laugh:

"Haha, I understand your theory, young man. But perhaps this is precisely the arrogance that comes with being 'young'."

Her tone carried a mocking air of someone who had experienced the vicissitudes of life.

"At my age, having witnessed too much illusion and change, sometimes I just don't want to look in the mirror anymore. What I see is no longer my appearance, but the marks of time and the weariness of my soul."

She paused, her tone suddenly becoming extremely sharp and realistic, carrying a chilling dark humor:

"Since it was bound to turn out like this sooner or later, I should have had more plastic surgeries when I was younger and before my skin started to sag. Maybe I would look better now."

She abruptly steered the conversation away from philosophical discussions and back to a blunt, even vulgar, jest about the inevitable decay of one's own body, as if the tragic death of the Golden Princess was merely a cautionary tale about the ultimate negative aspect of "beauty and skincare."

This sudden, almost cruel sense of reality, in stark contrast to her status as a monarch and the tragedy before her, creates a chilling effect.

The absence of mirrors seems to cast a deeper shadow over the cost of "beauty" and ultimate nothingness.

Perhaps these discussions about mirrors and aging are ultimately just idle chatter that strays from the main topic.

At this moment, the shrewd monarch Enolae skillfully shifted the topic, bringing the focus back to the core event itself.

Her burning eyes met Matou Ike's gaze, and her tone became slightly more serious:

“So, back to the main point. The Golden Princess asked you last night if she could ‘escape’… Is that true?” She needed direct confirmation from him.

"I'm sorry, it's true." Matou Ike frankly admitted this without any hesitation.

In this situation, lying without verifying the facts can worsen the situation and expose more flaws. Being honest about what is known can sometimes give you more control of the conversation.

“Hmm.” Inolai made an ambiguous sound from her throat and continued to press, “What’s the reason? She should at least give you a reason that would make her betray the family.”

“She said it was because the ‘technique’ that Lord Byron used to ‘refine’ them—that is, the Golden Princess and the Silver Princess—had become ‘inefficient’ and even dangerous.”

Matou Ike repeated what she had heard last night, "If things continue as they are, one of them, the Silver Princess, will die sooner or later. In that case, fleeing in 'self-defense' is also a kind of 'duty'."

Yes, she used the word 'obligation'.

It is not a 'right'.

This difference in wording is crucial. It signifies that, in the mind of the Golden Princess Tiade, escape was not a choice born of cowardice, but rather a responsible action necessary to preserve this precious body, considered "the path to the Vortex of Roots."

In other words, the Golden Princess also only regards her body as a 'tool' and 'path' to achieve her ultimate goal, which means that she also has the same objectification consciousness that is taken for granted by magicians.

This kind of calm, almost self-destructive logic is the typical mindset of a magician.

“…I see.” Inole nodded, his face showing little surprise.

"It sounds like... this is indeed a 'very likely' scenario."

She even gave it a thumbs up, saying, "In my opinion, the 'completeness' achieved by the Golden Princess is outstanding, even close to a certain critical point. It's common in this industry for a stage to change, and for previously successful methodologies to no longer be applicable or even have the opposite effect."

She paused, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible contempt, "Moreover, if I may be frank, Bai Longqing... cannot be described as a particularly 'flexible' or adaptable person."

Perhaps she already had some idea about it, because the silver-haired old woman tapped her temple with her index finger, hinting at Byron's rigid thinking.

Following this logic, she naturally deduced the next step:

"Then, as the other half of the twins, 'Princess Silver' Estella, may also know some key information and even share the same fears."

Matouchi immediately seized the opportunity to make a request:

"Could you assist us in conducting a one-on-one interrogation of the Silver Princess?" He hoped to use Inolei's authority to pry open the Silver Princess's mouth.