"Magecraft Perception!"
Within the kaleidoscope of elemental clouds, a massive concentration of fiery red prana swirled around Flyn's body.
No, something was wrong.
Flyn's elemental attribute was Wind!
Wayland recalled the assessment Irigal had performed when they first met; Flyn was undoubtedly a Wind-attribute magus. While it was possible for a Wind magus to use Fire spells, it was highly irregular.
No sane magus would attempt to learn a spell beyond their capability that didn't even align with their own attribute. It was logically unsound.
Given the choice between a Fire spell with a ten percent success rate and a Wind spell with a fifty percent success rate, which would you choose?
Flyn wasn't an idiot.
[DING!]
The system's notification tone rang out in his mind.
[Branch Quest 7: The Mystery of Flyn's death.]
[Quest Description: Flyn Leigh has died in an alleyway due to a catastrophic prana backfire. You have discovered abnormal discrepancies at the scene and have concluded it was murder. Investigate the cause of his death and identify the culprit.]
[Time Limit: 3 Days.]
[Quest Reward: Promotion to Fledgling Rank.]
Wayland scanned the information. Only three days?
"Louis, who did you call just now?"
"What? Oh, the disposal team from the enforcement squad. They'll collect the body, verify his identity, and notify his family."
"Flyn didn't commit suicide. To be precise, he died from a prana backfire, but it wasn't because he was practicing magecraft of his own volition."
"Do you have evidence? Because unless you do, the Department of Policies isn't going to waste its time on a hunch."
"I was in the same class as Flyn for a while. He told me himself that his attribute was Wind. Don't you think it's a bit suspicious for a Wind magus to be practicing Fire spells beyond his level in a place like this?"
"That reasoning... it's not exactly a smoking gun. Human behavior is rarely logical. Maybe there was a reason we don't know about that drove him to do it?"
Wayland didn't argue. He simply pointed deeper into the narrow alley. "Would you come to a place like this to practice your magecraft?"
Louis looked around. The alley was secluded and quiet, with almost no foot traffic. He nodded slowly. "You're right. According to Clock Tower regulations, students aren't permitted to practice magecraft in locations like this."
"If you practice at the student plaza and things go wrong, there are students and teachers nearby who would notice almost immediately. They might even be able to save you. If someone comes to a place like this to practice, it's usually because they're dabbling in... Black Magecraft." He paused. "But the elemental residue here indicates a basic Fire spell."
Louis was starting to be swayed. He clapped Wayland on the shoulder. "So, what's the move? Do we call the Captain?"
"Don't forget what week it is. I suspect this might be connected to the cabal performances."
Louis's jaw dropped. "Is the competition really that cutthroat nowadays? Thank god I didn't sign up to perform back then."
"..." Wayland sighed. 'What is he even thinking?' "My point is that Flyn's death might be related to the event, not necessarily the cabals themselves."
"You mean a hostile force from outside the Clock Tower?"
Wayland shrugged. "Who knows? Tell the disposal team to hold off for now; we need to keep the scene as it is. I'll call the Captain and have her take a look."
"Got it."
Both Wayland and Louis pulled out their phones. Wayland quickly explained the situation to Hishiri Adashino and received a single command in return.
"Don't let anyone touch the body. I'll be there immediately."
It wasn't long before Adashino arrived, accompanied by another girl.
"Laurence Sherry, from the Department of Necromancy (Spiritual Tomb)," Adashino introduced her. She immediately knelt down to examine Flyn's wounds.
Wayland offered a polite nod to Laurence before turning his attention back to Adashino. "I suspect it was Dominion Magecraft. Flyn might have accidentally witnessed something he wasn't supposed to see and was immediately placed under control. The culprit forced him here and compelled him to cast a spell far beyond his capacity, triggering the backfire."
"Why would they go through such a convoluted process instead of just killing him outright?" Adashino didn't speak; it was Laurence who asked the question.
"Two possibilities." Wayland held up two fingers. "First, the culprit might have been busy and didn't have the time to properly dispose of a body. Perhaps they were maintaining some kind of bounded field? Second, a direct murder would be too easily discovered. Flyn was a student of General Fundamentals; as the primary department, their classes are frequent and mandatory. His absence would have been noticed almost immediately by his classmates and lecturers."
"A very astute analysis. You are becoming more like your teacher, Lord El-Melloi II, every day." Adashino stood up. "I've checked the wounds; they align with what you've said. If you hadn't been so observant, this would have been written off as a simple accident."
As she spoke, she shot a pointed look at Louis, who began to whistle softly and look at the sky, feigning total ignorance.
"The question now is... who is the culprit?"
"The number of students capable of such high-level Dominion Magecraft is small," Wayland mused. Dominion was a somewhat taboo subject at the Clock Tower; the idea of controlling another person was inherently unsettling. "Could it be someone from the Department of Creation?"
Creation focused on three primary systems: sympathetic magecraft, puppet-making, and puppet control. Flyn's current state was remarkably similar to that of a marionette, his every movement--even his internal Magic Circuits--commanded from the outside.
"Do not allow your suspicions to wander too far just yet," Adashino reminded him. She knew Wayland's logic was sound, but at the Clock Tower, being right wasn't always enough. She turned to Laurence. "I'll leave the rest to you."
"Leave it to me. Step back at least one meter."
Laurence stood before Flyn's body, her eyes closed. She placed her hand over his head and began a low, rhythmic chant.
Necromancy.
An invisible wind began to swirl around Laurence as a sudden, bone-chilling cold filled the alley. Wayland shivered, the freezing air seemingly piercing through to his very marrow. It felt as if a door to another realm had been opened. Laurence tapped her finger against her own brow, and a greyish-white aura expanded outward, forming a circle approximately one meter in diameter.
A pale, ghostly figure drifted upward from Flyn's body.
"Flyn, can you hear me?"
Laurence's voice was calm, but the spirit that slowly materialized before them was vacant and dazed, showing no sign of awareness.
Her expression shifted to one of disappointment as she turned back to Adashino. "His soul has been damaged."
"Is there no way to retrieve his memories?" Adashino asked.
"Not through his soul, at least."
"The culprit was certainly thorough," Louis chimed in from the side.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]