At Least Not a Heretic

As evening fell, a fiery red hue permeated the campus.

It was no longer just the glow of the setting sun, but the fiery light of the heatwave.

As the explosion occurred, a blindingly bright red expanse expanded in mid-air, causing rolling waves of fire to surge outwards and gradually raising the surrounding temperature.

Under the astonishing Explosive Flame, the trees were battered by the Explosive Wind and swayed violently as if caught in a typhoon.

Ciel remained standing on the canopy of a tree, seemingly oblivious to his own weight, gazing at the waves of fire sweeping across the sky.

A moment later, Ciel's eyes flashed.

The keen observation caught the attention of the Burial Agency's representative.

Amidst the raging flames, a silver flash appeared.

"Pfft—!"

Like slicing through a human body, with a crisp slashing sound, the cold blade light cut through the raging flames, cleaving the rolling fire waves in two.

Fang Li emerged from the flames that had been split in two, his entire body shimmering with fragments of starlight. He was completely unharmed amidst the Explosive Flame and intense heat, not even a single scorch mark on the hem of his clothes.

It even hovered in mid-air, showing no signs of following gravity or free fall.

Looking at Fang Li, Ciel's expression finally turned serious.

Fang Li, spoke indifferently, just as he had commented.

"As expected of the agent of the Burial Agency, their strength is indeed formidable."

In the Burial Agency of the Holy Church, almost every agent has the ability to defeat the Twenty-Seven Ancestors of the Dead Apostle.

Ciel ranks seventh in the Burial Agency and possesses exceptional physical abilities and magical knowledge, making him naturally formidable in combat.

Regardless of the fact that Nero is ranked tenth among the Twenty-Seven Ancestors of the Dead Apostle, if he were a weaker ancestor, then with Ciel's strength, he would certainly be capable of defeating him, right?

Coupled with that emotionless, cold-blooded action, it would be nothing short of a nightmare for ordinary non-humans.

"So, I'll also show you my true skills in this fight."

Fragments of starlight began to shimmer, as if boiling, constantly emanating from Fang Li's body and flowing down to the soles of his feet, where they converged.

Immediately, Fang Li's body began to tilt.

"Thump—!"

With a muffled thud, as if the air had been crushed, a strong gust of wind shook out beneath Fang Li's feet.

Thus, Fang Li's figure completely transformed into a streak of light, like a meteorite falling from the sky, and swept towards Ciel.

Speed, as fast as a flash of light.

"————!"

Ciel's expression changed slightly.

Seeing Fang Li rushing towards Fang Li at an astonishing speed, almost out of reach of the naked eye, Ciel's heart leaped into his throat. Without hesitation, he flung out the Black Key, deflected the blade, held it between his fingers, and once again, with a dance-like, afterimage-like motion, hurled it out.

The throwing sword, flashing with a solitary light, cleaved through space and shot straight toward the streak of light descending from the sky.

However, the streak of light descending from the sky followed an extraordinary trajectory, like lightning, and in a few swift movements, it dodged all the projectiles that were shooting towards it. Its speed did not decrease at all, but instead suddenly increased, rushing towards Ciel.

"————!"

Ciel's expression hardened, and with a flick of his wrist, he gripped the throwing sword with its protruding blade once more, seemingly preparing for close combat.

Unfortunately, in close combat, there was no way that Ciel could defeat Fang Li.

"Choke----!"

Amidst the melodious cries of swords, the chilling glint of blades fell like thunder.

"Clang—!"

With a crisp sound, the throwing swords that Ciel had blocked in front of him were cleanly cut in half, turning into fragments like scrap metal and scattering around.

"...?!"

Ciel was finally surprised.

no way.

The so-called Black Key, apart from the handle, has a blade made of magic, not actual steel.

Cutting it off means only one thing.

That is, the other party has the ability to cut off magic power.

This ability led to the defeat of the Burial Agency's agents, who were capable of defeating even the Twenty-Seven Ancestors of the Dead Apostle.

"Click..."

With a metallic clang, a sharp dagger was pressed against Ciel's throat.

Ciel's breath hitched.

Before him, Fang Li, whose starlight gradually receded, placed a dagger against Ciel's neck and slowly raised his head.

Ciel didn't know if it was just his imagination.

In short, in that brief moment, Ciel seemed to see a flash of icy blue light in Fang Li's eyes.

Immediately, Fang Li spoke up.

"Are you satisfied now? Can you spare my life now, my lord?"

Although his tone was not sarcastic and was quite casual, given the current situation, anyone would think that Fang Li was mocking a defeated dog.

"I have heard that it doesn't matter whether the agents of the Burial Agency have faith or not. Moreover, they have a special status in the Holy Church and have independent judgment power. They can freely eliminate those who get in their way. But they used a fatal method on me without thinking. If I weren't someone who doesn't care about life and death, I'm afraid I would hate you by now."

Fang Li glanced at Ciel and said this casually.

"You're such a gentle senior, isn't this a bit too rude?"

The sarcastic tone, however, calmed Ciel down.

Staring at Fang Li in front of him, Ciel uttered words devoid of emotion.

"Who are you?"

A brief question was met with an equally brief answer.

"At least it's not some kind of heresy."

After saying that, Fang Li withdrew the dagger from his hand, and his figure suddenly flashed and disappeared from the spot.

Ciel immediately focused his mind and sensed Fang Li's aura.

Unfortunately, once Fang Li enters stealth mode, it becomes impossible for Ciel to detect Fang Li's presence.

Previously, Ciel was able to detect Fang Li only because Fang Li did not deliberately conceal his aura, which is why Hiel was able to detect a slight abnormality.

Now, however, Ciel could no longer sense Fang Li's presence at all.

Therefore, Ciel knew.

Fang Li has already left.

Ciel fell silent.

Gazing at the setting sun, Ciel remained expressionless, but his eyes revealed a thoughtful expression.

"Who are you?"

The same question was asked, but the same answer was never given again.

One thing is certain.

That is, the foreigners active in this city are not just vampires.

At that moment, Ciel turned his gaze and looked in one of the directions.

That direction is the direction of the Tohno family.

"What else is that Non-Human Clan hiding?"