Chapter 172: How Could This Trigger a Backlash?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 172: How Could This Trigger a Backlash?
"Reputation..."
Looking at the reward, Xie Bai shook her head.
Normally, reputation rewards were incredibly valuable. As long as one had enough base reputation, they could easily attract the attention of important characters, thereby unlocking even more ways to earn reputation. In this sense, reputation rewards served as a form of "starting capital."
But for Xie Bai, it was practically useless. Still, she didn't mind the quest reward itself. Her gaze drifted to the quest description.
"Me...? I'm being watched by a mastermind?"
Seeing this information, she couldn't help but feel puzzled. "When did this happen?"
In her perception, she hadn't sensed anything like "someone's gaze." Then again, it was possible the quest had just added that for a bit of artificial tension.
"Whatever. I'll go take a look at this academy later. I was just wondering what to do next anyway."
With that thought, Xie Bai turned to the Two Little Ones behind her. "Alright, let's keep moving."
As she spoke, she looked at Kairos and flicked her finger toward his back.
Snap!
The rope binding Kairos unraveled through the air.
"If you're still worried, you're welcome to keep following us," Xie Bai said with a gentle smile.
It was like the first ray of sunlight piercing through a thick haze. The sight of Xie Bai's smile struck Kairos right in the heart.
"Cough!"
He instinctively clutched his chest and wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth.
"D-dammit... I almost couldn't hold my guard up..."
After regaining a modicum of composure, Kairos looked at Xie Bai with renewed caution. On the surface, this white-haired girl looked harmless, but the power she contained was not to be underestimated. If his guess was correct, wiping out thirty assassins from the Shadow Faction in a single blow wasn't even the full extent of her strength.
However, the threat from the Shadow Faction likely hadn't been fully resolved. If he left the side of such a powerful figure now, then...
While Kairos was weighing the pros and cons, the Two Little Ones dashed past him.
"Coming, Sister Xiaobai!"
"Where are we going next?"
Faced with their questions, Xie Bai pondered for a moment. "Hmm... have you heard of Dome Academy? Let's go wander around there for a bit."
Hearing this, Kairos was suddenly startled. Her goal is Dome Academy?!
The moment his own academy was mentioned, all of Kairos's previous assumptions were overturned. What is someone like her... going to Dome Academy for?
In an instant, various theories flooded his mind.
No... no matter what, I have to stay by their side and keep an eye on things. If something really happens, I'll be in the best position to take precautions...
Thinking this, he looked up toward Xie Bai. She had already walked quite a distance with the Two Little Ones.
Seeing this, Kairos hurriedly rushed after them, shouting, "Hey! Wait a minute! I'm a student at Dome Academy! If you want to go there, I can lead the way!"
Xie Bai stopped in her tracks. "Oh? Really? Well, thank you then."
She gave Kairos another slight smile.
"!!!"
Kairos froze mid-stride, tripped over a pebble, and face-planted onto the ground.
"Oof!"
*
Dome Academy, Shadow Department.
Inside a hidden room, an old man sat in a chair, examining an amulet in his hands. Sitting across from him was a man shrouded in pitch-black.
"Well, Lord Vesparo?" the man asked, his voice exceptionally low. "By accepting our power, you can not only protect your seat at the Dome from being snatched by that Witch, but you can even use it to protect the entire academy from the flames of the Aodu Empire's wars."
Faced with the man's promise, Vesparo set the amulet down and looked at him calmly. "If I'm not mistaken, you are the Cult Leader of Chaos."
The man nodded. "I didn't expect that even after concealing my entire aura, I would still be discovered by you. Impressive, truly impressive."
Vesparo shook his head at the Cult Leader's pleasantries. "Forget it. No matter how sinister I may be, I won't fall so low as to choose the power of Chaos."
He pushed the amulet back toward the Cult Leader. "However, I am very interested in the intelligence you just provided. Without you, I wouldn't have known that Lady Ivy was a hidden Witch. In that case, it should be much easier to bring her down."
The Cult Leader smiled. "Since I have been of help to you, my work here is done. I understand your reluctance to approach Chaos. After all, not everyone can maintain their sanity in its presence."
He paused. "I hope that the next time we meet, I can be of further assistance."
With those words, the Cult Leader's figure dissolved before Vesparo's eyes.
Once the visitor was gone, Vesparo rose from his seat. "Come in."
The door pushed open, and a woman approached him. "Teacher, the assassins we sent to intercept Kairos... they've all been killed."
Vesparo's drooping eyes suddenly snapped upward. "By whom?"
The woman shook her head. "We don't know. When the Diviner responsible for tracking them tried to divine the opponent's location, they were suddenly hit by an unknown backlash and died on the spot."
"What?" Vesparo looked at the woman in disbelief. "They died from a backlash just by divining a location? Without even looking for specific identity information?"
To Vesparo, the absurdity of this was no different than being counter-killed by a fish while trying to gut it.
The woman nodded. "Yes, Teacher. We were shocked as well, which is why I've come to ask if you could step in."
"This... fine."
Vesparo sat back down, pulled out a deck of cards, and began a divination.
Out of caution, he didn't start by divining the killer's information. Instead, he chose to focus on the dead assassins. By utilizing the concealment of the Shadow Department, he could deduce the cause of death. This would allow him to bypass the divination backlash and indirectly infer information about the killer.
A second later, an image began to surface before Vesparo's eyes.
"Good... a little clearer... let me see how these people died..."
Suddenly, Vesparo's voice cut off.
To his shock, the image he saw wasn't of dead assassins. It was a vast, dark purple space. It was so expansive that his entire consciousness felt like it was being swallowed by it.
"Wait... this—this is!?"
Vesparo's consciousness snapped back to reality. In the next instant, blood erupted from his eyes.
"Argh!!!"
Vesparo collapsed onto the floor in agony, unable to even lift his head.
"Teacher!" Seeing Vesparo in trouble, the woman rushed forward to support him.
"Cough... wait, I... I..." Vesparo's consciousness began to blur. "I have one more important thing... I need you to do..."
"Yes, Teacher! Just say the word!"
"Ivy... she... she is..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Vesparo lost consciousness completely.
"Teacher—!!!"