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", , , "
With Fang Li's single statement, the air on the rooftop became unbearably heavy, as if filled with cement.
And it was not just heavy, it was heavier than ever before.
The oppressive atmosphere stemmed entirely from Stiyl and Kanzaki's expressions and gazes.
Their gazes and expressions carried a true sense of danger.
Especially Stiyl, his eyes practically burned like fire, as if he had just heard something utterly unforgivable.
Then, Stiyl spoke. "Are you telling us to walk away?"
It was as if he had transformed all the anger in his heart into a mocking smile when he briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his eyes blazed with intense emotion and biting sarcasm.
"You're an outsider who knows nothing. What gives you the right to order us to stand down? What authority do you have to make us step aside?"
Few people could truly comprehend the emotions behind his words.
But Fang Li was not one of them.
From the beginning, he had known everything, including the true identities of Stiyl and Kanzaki.
This included the true identities of Stiyl and Kanzaki.
So Fang Li only said this: "Maybe I don't have the right to say those words. But you...you have every reason to back off right now."
His gaze fixed firmly on Stiyl and Kanzaki, Fang Li's expression remained unwavering from beginning to end.
"After all, you two don't want to hurt Index, do you? Members of the Anglican Church's Necessarius, the 0th Parish of the United Kingdom."
"Stiyl Magnus."
"Kanzaki Kaori."
That's right.
They were members of Necessarius, the 0th Parish of the Anglican Church in the United Kingdom. Just like Index, the two magicians standing before him belonged to Necessarius.
In other words, Stiyl and Kanzaki weren't Index's enemies. They were her allies.
"You…" Stiyl looked stunned.
"As I thought..." Kanzaki murmured softly as if realizing something: "You know who we are."
Of course, Fang Li knew them.
These two were Index's companions.
Her former companions to be exact.
Not only that, but they were also irreplaceable and deeply important comrades to Index.
Otherwise, Stiyl and Kanzaki's earlier words about Index wouldn't have sounded so familiar and intimate.
Unfortunately, all of that had been erased from Index's memory.
Because she had lost her memories.
Naturally, her memory loss wasn't an accident or a coincidence. It was the result of deliberate human intervention.
"I know who you are. I also know why Index lost her memories," Fang Li said calmly. "It's because, every year, you two erase Index's memories through magic. Am I wrong?"
Upon hearing this, Stiyl and Kanzaki's expressions darkened.
That alone proved Fang Li's words were true.
"Despite being irreplaceable and precious companions, you erase Index's memories every single year. You even play the role of her enemy and hunt her down day after day," Fang Li said nonchalantly. "I'm impressed you can be that ruthless.
Not ruthless toward Index, but ruthless toward themselves.
After all, few things are more painful than being seen as an enemy by a once-irreplaceable friend, being forced to hunt her down, and ultimately erasing her memories with your own hands.
Clearly, Stiyl and Kanzaki Kaori carried that pain.
All for Index's sake.
"If I remember correctly, Index has memorized the original contents of 103,000 grimoires with her Perfect Memory. Over 85% of her brain's memory capacity is filled, leaving her with only 15% to keep her mind functioning. At that rate, with her perfect memory, it would only take about a year to fill her mind again. If you didn't erase her memories and she continued to store information, her brain would literally burst. That's why you're forced to wipe her memories, returning your bond with her to zero over and over again, all for the sake of someone important, isn't that right?"
Though Fang Li's tone was calm, it carried a sense of chilling detachment.
And in the same detached tone he had used yesterday when he first met Stiyl, he said the same two words:
"How foolish."
There was no mistaking it, it was an insult.
"You...!" Stiyl and Kanzaki erupted with emotion on the spot.
'Foolish?'
For the sake of their precious friend's life, they endured being forgotten, hated, and hunted. Every year, they erased her memories with their own hands, destroying the precious bonds between them time and again.
And this agony was called foolish?
"What do you know?!" Kanzaki stepped forward.
At that moment, an overwhelming aura burst from her body.
It was so terrifying that it blew away the oppressive air surrounding them, filling the rooftop with a violent, storm-like pressure.
But it vanished without a trace after only a moment.
This was due not only to Kanzaki's self-control, but also to Stiyl's intervention.
As she stepped forward, he extended a hand and pressed it firmly on her shoulder.
"...Foolish, huh?" Stiyl chuckled.
But his laughter carried far more intense emotion than before.
"You really gave us quite the evaluation, delinquent."
His gaze toward Fang Li was now filled with pure hostility.
"I had wanted to calmly ask you why you know so much, but I've lost my patience. So I'll just take you out right now."
The words had barely left his lips when, "Flames (Kenaz)…"
With that short incantation, the laws of reality twisted.
BOOM!
With an explosive roar, flames that should never have existed in this space erupted from thin air and blazed forth.
The inferno released searing heat as it surged like waves, sweeping across the edges of the rooftop.
In an instant, a blazing wall of fire rose, sealing off the rooftop entirely.
This space had become a purgatory.
And the master of this purgatory stood there, unmoving.
"My injuries haven't fully healed yet, but my magic power is completely fine. This time I'll fight as a true magician… and turn you to ash right here."
Stiyl's pupils glowed red like fire as he glared at Fang Li.
"You won't escape, delinquent."
But even as Fang Li stood amidst the roaring flames, baked by the scorching heat, his expression remained calm.
"Escape?" He spoke with a smile. "You've got it all wrong."
His tone remained utterly indifferent.
"I'm the one who came looking for you. There's no reason to run."
With those words, Fang Li's hand closed around his weapon. With a sharp click, he raised it and aimed forward.
A gun.
(End Of This Chapter)