Whispers Hidden in the Dark Night (6)

Fatenai took a step back, only to find a barrier behind her, preventing her retreat. She tilted her head slightly to the side, then turned back to face Chris directly. "Why are you approaching me? I don't think I'm a particularly interesting person to you—and you have quite a bit of dark history yourself."

"You figure things out pretty quickly," Chris chuckled. Then, her fingers, which had been moving casually, suddenly spread apart. As she moved her fingers, Fatenai inexplicably felt that despite the movements being a sign of dexterity, Chris's execution of them seemed mechanical. But she no longer had the chance to ponder this—her body was yanked, and she was flung to the side!

Fatenai was caught off guard by the sudden attack, unable to react—in fact, she had no way to react.

Where did the attack come from?

It was like facing an unknown enemy.

"Cough, cough..." Fatenai slammed against the wall, feeling a sharp pain in her back. She couldn't help but cough. Then Chris walked up to her. Looking down at Fatenai, who was coughing, she could only see the other woman's sheepskin boots appear in her vision.

Chris leaned down to "admire" Fatenai. "Such beautiful hair."

Fatenai ignored her feigned compliment, then felt her hair being grabbed. Her head was yanked up violently. "Nngh—!"

"But so stubborn, so... As a freshman, don't have such thoughts—though you won't have the chance anymore." Chris whispered in Fatenai's ear.

It was as if something was surrounding Chris, protecting her invisibly.

"Really..." Fatenai wore a smile—a rare smile for her.

It was far from joyful, difficult to interpret, but leaned more towards "helplessness."

Chris paid no attention to her reaction, maintaining her smile while gripping Fatenai's hair. That invisible force then struck Fatenai's abdomen!

"Nngh—Cough, cough, cough!" Fatenai coughed violently, her body unable to move.

Is the strength enough...

Fatenai's vision blurred slightly. Unexpectedly, Ed's voice echoed in her ears—she inwardly sighed, realizing that person truly knew something.

However, Ed allowing her to be cornered like this was likely deliberate retaliation for her somewhat unpleasant attitude earlier.

But what of it.

"Hey, Chris," her hair released, Fatenai's head drooped again. She tried her best to lift her head, her tone calm.

"Hm?" Chris seemed very curious about what Fatenai would say.

"Do you know about the Black Demon Vine?" Fatenai's nonchalant demeanor made it sound as if she were discussing what to drink at afternoon tea.

Chris's expression froze.

Fatenai realized she didn't know about it and couldn't help but frown. "Really... you should read more books..."

Thump—!

Several black vines suddenly shot out from the ground, crawling across the floor in twisted patterns, unexpectedly entangling Chris!

Fatenai felt her body being freed and her eyes widened. The flow of magic was clearly visible in her eyes. Without a word, she headed towards the "exit"—although it might be some kind of spell, it utilized the academy's alchemical architecture—in other words, it couldn't be infinite.

The flow of magic could not escape the Eye of Connection.

As she ran, Fatenai didn't forget to throw out the plants she had prepared. Those "specialties" brought from the forest each had their own unique properties—she was not stingy at all at this moment.

But Fatenai harbored a sliver of doubt. When she was slammed against the wall, she felt like she was falling apart, yet the pain in her hands wasn't severe, allowing her to accurately touch the Black Demon Vine hidden on her person. At the same time, theoretically, the Eye of Connection should be able to see the entire process of magic operation—but she couldn't find some "key points."

No time to overthink.

Snap.

"Damn it..." Fatenai quickly reached the "exit"—the end of this corridor. At the same time, Chris's voice echoed from behind her. As she stepped forward, she couldn't help but turn her head to glance at Chris—Chris stood not far away, like a phantom unable to bear the light, keeping far from it.

Swish—! Just as Fatenai was about to take the final step, those invisible things surrounding Chris wrapped around her!

"Heh... How could I... let you escape..." Chris's expression had turned into a smile, the sudden change adding a touch of hysteria to her appearance. "Hahaha... Why do you need to know so much? And let her know... it can only lead to your death..."

But she suddenly stopped—the invisible things hadn't ensnared anything.

She only saw Fatenai's movements like a dancer's, sidestepping, bending low, even a simple knee bend perfectly deflecting the invisible objects.

"This..." It was simply unbelievable—Chris stared at Fatenai in astonishment. Fatenai had dodged the entanglement, and on the final move, she deliberately fell to the side, then calmly rolled on the ground without fear, landing outside.

If others feared these things condensed from magic, Fatenai did not.

Her eyes had seen everything clearly.

It's just...

"Hiss..." Fatenai had exited the "exit." Behind her, the corridor had turned into a wall, yet... she couldn't move.

Where did the mishap occur?

Fatenai frowned, trying to focus. Everything that had happened in the past two weeks replayed in her mind...

Shirey, Christie, Chris...

The sudden blackout that day, the inexplicably appearing and disappearing corpses, the chase at night, the strange nightmares... and...

"Every magician is special." Lyteta's voice ended all her speculations.

Fatenai looked behind her, her face showing no panic.

Chris hated Christie, so she wanted to kill her—this made sense for someone with a dark past, but what was this dark past? Why did Chris hate Christie?

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of water had become all too familiar. Fatenai's face was ashen; there was no mistake, that was the sound of an alchemy mechanism activating within the building.

So that's how it was.

Fatenai stood frozen, sweat trickling down her forehead. The sound of water was the only clear noise, accompanied by an atmosphere of brewing and fermentation.

Suddenly, someone appeared, shattering the stillness. Fatenai felt as if she could breathe different air, staring blankly at the newcomer—long, lake-blue hair, gentle features, a face that was always serene, perpetually clad in a white robe, like an ascetic. "Arthur."

"Merlin?" Fatenai felt a sense of disbelief.