(Professor Muland's POV)
Have the kids finally left? I don't see them anymore.
I can finally release the spell. It looks like the attack is also dying down.
"Albert... Why have you come here!" I yelled, my voice filled with rage.
"So, it was you, Alfred—or should I call you Muland now? I thought I recognized that spell from somewhere," he said, a smile on his face. He drew the sword at his waist, the smile vanishing as his face filled with rage.
"Albert! I asked you a question!" I shouted while drawing my own sword.
"..." He said nothing, only glaring at me. I could feel his pure hatred directed at me.
"So! You're just going to keep quiet, huh? After what you did to our master," I said in a patronizing tone.
"There it is again, that attitude—always thinking you're better," he replied, clenching his sword with a furious expression.
"Don't talk to me about better! Fallen scum! How did it feel, huh, to drink Master's blood?" I retorted, unable to contain my rage.
"Alfred!" he yelled, rushing toward me.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before me, swinging his sword down.
I blocked it and countered by kicking him in the side, but he blocked it with his arm.
I could feel his sword growing heavier and heavier as he pushed down on me.
I decided to surround myself with a wind barrier, which made him jump back.
Of course, he would. This wasn't just wind—it was wind rotating at an extremely fast speed. If he touched it, he'd be ripped to shreds.
But I can't keep this up forever. I need to conserve my magion.
He's probably thinking the same thing. He'll attack the moment I release the spell. That's when I'll reactivate it for just a split second to catch him off guard. That will be my chance.
I released my spell, and just as expected, he came rushing toward me. I quickly reactivated my barrier.
Now I only need to—
"Huh? What just happened? How did he cut through my barrier? Not only that—he cut my arm, and my regeneration won't even activate. I won't be able to use it for the rest of the battle anymore.
That spell… No, I couldn't feel any magion. That must mean it was a skill.
But did he always have that skill?
No, wait—isn't that..."
I quickly jumped backward, away from him. He, too, was tired and experiencing backlash from using that skill.
"Absolute Destruction... That skill belonged to Master. To think you acquired it after drinking her blood," I said, breathing heavily, clenching my sword.
He said nothing. He was struggling to stand, leaning on his sword.
This was my best chance to kill him.
I gathered the last bit of magion I had to cast the high-level wind spell Air Bomb.
I saw him take something out of his pocket, but I didn't care. I focused on finishing the spell.
Air Bomb was an extremely dangerous spell. It also utilized the rotation of the air, causing wide-range destruction. It could even harm the user.
Thus, I had to cast the spell by channeling magion to the tip of my sword.
I compressed it as small as I could and fired it.
It didn't take long to reach Albert.
As soon as it came into contact with him, the spell began to expand.
It sucked in everything close to it and shredded it until nothing was left.
I was almost pulled in too, but I had about 20% of my magion left, of which I used 19% to cast a barrier.
There's no way Albert could survive that... That's what I thought.
But he came out unscathed.
He walked toward me, looking down at me as I knelt on one knee, leaning on my sword, struggling to stand.
"How?" I asked.
He said nothing, only pulling out a vial containing what looked like blood.
He began drinking it. I could feel his magion increasing with every sip.
"I am a Fallen, after all," he said after throwing the vial to the floor and wiping the blood from his mouth.
He pointed his sword at me. All his wounds had recovered; it was as if our battle had never even happened.
"So... You're going to kill me too, just like Master?" I asked with a sad, hopeless expression.
I had no strength left to stand, and my magion was too low for another spell.
If I let him kill me, he would certainly drink my blood, just as he did to Master.
Is that skill my only option? But it needs time to activate.
"Albert, just tell me one thing before you kill me. What were Master's—no, Mother's—final moments like?" I asked, stalling for time to activate the skill.
"Fine, since you're dying here anyway," he said, stepping closer to my ear.
He whispered something.
"What!? Albert, what do you—" Before I could finish, he swung his sword down at me.
But before it could reach me, the skill was ready.
[Mind Over]
My body shattered into pieces before evaporating.
But before I disappeared, I heard Albert say, "Sorry, my idiot little brother," in a soft tone, smiling.
---
"So, I'm back. How long has it been since I've used my real body?" I said aloud, getting out of bed.
[Mind Over]—a skill that allows one to transfer memories to another vessel through a magion thread.
The thread must first connect the two bodies to form a link for the transfer.
I created this skill by combining two others: [Memory] and [Transfer].
[Memory] converts memories into magion, destroying the original body.
[Transfer] connects two points, allowing magion to flow between them thus transferring the memories.
The drawback is that I lose 20% of my total magion permanently.
But… what did Brother mean when he said Mother is still alive?
More importantly, what was he doing at Scarlet Academy? Was he trying to kill Silver—or maybe Emily?
"William," I called out as I got out of bed.
"Yes, Your Majesty Alfred," a servant replied, entering the room.
"Did anyone enter this room while I was unconscious?" I asked William seriously, walking toward a desk to grab paper and a pen.
"I have guarded this place for the last two years. The only person to visit was the young lady—your sister," William replied, bowing with his hand on his chest.
"I see... William, send a request to the Moonlit Guild for a background check on Silver Lustra and Emily Bloodsworth," I said, writing a note.
"And give this to the Guild Master—no one else must see it," I added, handing him the note.
"And one more thing—prepare a new body for me."
"Yes, Your Majesty," William replied before leaving.
"I need to figure out what the Fallen are planning," I said, walking to the window.
"The Endless Night… A tragedy like that must never happen again," I murmured, staring out into the distance.