Chapter 44

Lusien reached the innermost part of the box; without even opening it, his extensive experience immediately put him on alert. We saw his expression suddenly change, and he roared, "Oh no! A bomb!"

As he spoke, he picked up the package and was about to run out when I raised my hand. An invisible Mage Hand pressed him to the spot, and a ball of pitch-black Hellfire shot out, engulfing the bomb. Lusien had already seen it when I was chasing the cyborg that day. Since he hasn't caught me yet and has even thanked me, there's no need for me to hide anything. Besides, burning the bomb is doing a good deed, which should lower my sin value.

Mel exclaimed in surprise, "Hellfire can actually burn physical objects?"

"Oh, this is an improved version," I replied, omitting the academic discussion given the urgency of the situation.

"Teach me next time," he said.

"Certainly."

The flames went out, and the delivery guy was so frightened that his eyes rolled back. Mel cast a calming spell to help him catch his breath and prevent him from being scared to death.

Lusien immediately drew his longsword, the deliveryman screamed in agony, and Mel's calming spell almost failed.

Hmm... Lusien's anger is indeed terrifying.

"Tell me, who ordered this?" he roared, making the tower tremble.

"Waaaaah, I really am just a deliveryman!" The deliveryman was on the verge of bursting into tears, but I quickly stopped Lusien to prevent his violent actions.

"Don't ask, he wasn't lying."

"Yes," Mel said, "The fluctuations in mental energy are obvious; there's no intention to lie."

Lusien glared at him sternly, sheathed his sword, but still asked some questions about the deliveryman. However, the courier was described as a very ordinary office worker, without any special features. If he were to do something petty theft, he wouldn't dress like Reynold, attracting attention like a male peacock with excessive hormones. He would definitely be caught before he even did anything wrong.

Modern candidates for the title of "Great Demon King" have really progressed; they know that being a high-profile "Great Demon King" leads to a quick demise, so they've all started to learn to be low-key.

Seeing that I couldn't get any more useful information, I decisively teleported the deliveryman outside the tower before Lusien could yell again.

Lusien explained our purpose, "Because Madsen's fans have been flocking to visit recently, the Federal Magic Council has specially arranged for our Shield of the New Star to patrol here and maintain order. This evening, a patrol member intercepted a letter addressed to you two, mixed in with some fan mail... Please forgive us, Shield of the New Star took it upon themselves to inspect those letters, because they couldn't be sent into the tower through the tower's defense system, so they were all accepted by Shield of the New Star members."

Hmm... fan letters? My goodness, that's truly amazing. Moli told me that some entertainment stars, bestselling authors, bards, and so on receive gifts and letters from fans to express their admiration and support, but this is the first time I've heard that a Black Mage would receive fan letters?

Such a popular and amazing dark mage can only be my Mel!

We then had no time to think about anything else.

Lusien's face was extremely serious and menacing. He held up the letter. "This is a kidnapping letter."

Chapter 44

"Kidnap Anna and Moli? What's so special about them that they're worth kidnapping?" Mel asked instinctively.

--This question isn't very precise; it sounds like he's looking down on them. But I understand what he really means is that they're both just mage apprentices, quite young, and haven't produced any research results that could improve military strength, nor have they published any theoretical research that could influence the future of human society. Their political status and social influence are... well... no, that's hard to say. I think Anna probably does have some social influence, but... the most serious consequence would be online readers urging for more updates?

... Could it be that they were beaten up by indignant readers because they wrote overly tragic novel endings or seriously missed deadlines? I thought about it seriously, and Moli had indeed made similar remarks before. Once, while reading a novel, she was so heartbroken by the plot that she cried her eyes out, yet she kept staring at the screen, yelling that she wanted to "send the author razor blades and bombs," while tirelessly continuing to read. Her face was swollen Abyss, and the tissues she used could fill my old apartment...

Hmm... mailing razor blades and bombs is probably just a joke. After all, I've never seen anything like it in the news. Young people these days just use such intense rhetoric to express their emotions. Just look at Moli; she's essentially a person of impeccable character and law-abiding behavior.

Therefore, this idea was ruled out.

I examined the ashes left behind by the genuine bomb—this highly dangerous magical explosive device, said to have come from one of those private military companies, seemed relatively believable.

So here's the crux of the matter: if someone were to spend a fortune hiring a military company to kidnap Reynold or the Five-Star Old Man (he should be easy to kidnap now; as long as he doesn't get sick of the slime and vomit uncontrollably, the Five-Star Old Man could still be easily scooped up and carried away), would there be any profit to be made? Anna and Moli? They really only have pamphlets to offer.

So...

I frowned. "So, kidnapping the apprentice was actually aimed at the teacher?"

Lusien nodded. "I think so too. To be precise, I believe the target is His Excellency Madsen."

Mel snorted, and I immediately felt the urge to unleash a dozen evil curses—of course, only if I found the enemy and threw them at them. I'm a law-abiding mage living in modern society, so my saying "cast evil curses" is mostly a strong rhetorical device. I'll only actually cast them in special circumstances—for example, if Mel dares to repeatedly try to sabotage me. Once I catch them, I won't cast any instant-death Black Magic. I regret Hellfire; it was too easy and pleasant—just close my eyes and it's over. I have a whole book of Soul Magic I can experiment with at my leisure.

Mel suddenly placed her hand gently on my back, stroking it back and forth. The warm touch covered my back, and after a moment, it made me feel better. I smiled apologetically at Lusien, whose whole body was tense, and waved my hand to dissipate the unstable Magic Power crystals in the air.

Then Lusien continued, "One of the cyborgs at the Magic Summit confessed during his interrogation that their goal was to assassinate Madsen. Whether they succeeded or not, they wanted to create a major international news story during the Magic Summit. If Field hadn't intervened in time, things would have really gotten out of hand. On behalf of the Shield of the New Star, I thank you again." As he spoke, he gave me a solemn salute, which startled me, and I didn't know where to put my hands.

Mel said, "I knew it, Xipei is really good!"

Oh no, this makes me even more embarrassed.

Lusien continued, "Those cyborgs belong to the same company as the ones who broke into the prison a few days ago. They erased the serial numbers on their chips before carrying out the mission, so we haven't yet determined which military company made them. This time, the bombs are even more obvious; they were delivered to His Excellency Madsen's tower, so they must still be aimed at you."

"Luckily, Xipei burned quickly," Mel said.

Hmm... I tugged at Mel's sleeve, trying to get him to stop.

Instead, Lusien said, "Yes, thank you again. If it weren't for you, I might have ended up in the hospital from the explosion."

Sigh... How should we describe this knight? Knowing it was a bomb, his first reaction was to pick it up and rush outside, not to abandon it and run away himself. If he didn't go to the hospital, who would? It's truly rare to see a knight with such pure chivalry these days!

He looked at me and said, "Miss Moli was probably caught in the crossfire by accident. Lord Madsen has a beloved dark elf apprentice; it's not hard to find out. A quick online search will tell you. At the time, Miss Moli was probably traveling with Miss Anna when she was caught in the crossfire."

Mel nodded. "That's right. Anna was once publicly shamed online by more than a dozen internet cafe owners in our area. For military companies, her information is not difficult to obtain."