Chapter 72 I Know Who the Murderer Is.
The moment the black mist touched the mud, something strange happened! There was no explosion at the contact point, no cancellation—instead, crimson crystals rapidly grew! These crystals grew and spread like crazy, transforming all the surging mud! Then, those red crystals shattered on their own, but instead of turning into powder, they became sharp red crystal needles! Thousands upon thousands of them, densely packed, floating around Selene, all pointing straight at Olivia!
What kind of evil conversion magic was this?! Directly turning incoming attacks into her own weapons?
Selene's eyes flashed coldly. She swung her hand forward sharply, the motion so fierce it seemed like she wanted to split the entire space apart!
A piercing shriek cut through the air! That massive rain of red crystal needles, like an enraged swarm of hornets, or like arrows blotting out the sky on a battlefield, shot toward Olivia from all directions with no escape route! If those things hit dead-on, she'd turn into a porcupine—a red one at that!
My heart nearly stopped! This was what wizard combat really looked like! Everything before was child's play!
But what about Olivia? She didn't even blink! Didn't dodge at all! The mud and sand in front of her, which had seemed harmless before, rose up like living shield walls, instantly constructing a thick, solid rock barrier in front of her! A continuous "ding-ding-clang-clang" rang out—the sound of red crystal needles frantically striking the stone wall! Sparks flew, broken stones scattered everywhere! Though the needle rain was fierce, it was completely blocked!
Those shattered red needles from the impacts clattered to the ground.
I thought that was it, ready to catch my breath.
But then, something even more incredible happened!
Those seemingly broken and useless red crystal fragments suddenly lit up with blinding golden light! The light rapidly connected between them, instantly forming a net of light that trapped both Olivia and her stone wall inside!
Alarm bells went off in my head—this was a delayed explosion rune?
An incredibly brief silence, as if time itself had frozen.
BOOM!
A violent, blinding explosion erupted! Golden-red light swallowed the spot where Olivia had been standing! The shockwave mixed with broken stones and air blasts spread outward, blowing so hard I couldn't keep my eyes open! Dust instantly filled the entire space!
This was bad! Someone was going to die!
Just at this critical moment, when I felt like the next second this corridor would be demolished, Selene actually stopped?! Not only did she stop, but she also shouted at the top of her lungs, and in her voice there was actually... actually a hint of urgency and helplessness?
"Anna, quickly restrain Olivia! If we keep fighting, I won't be able to hold back!"
Won't be able to hold back? Selene, you've already blown this place to pieces! If you keep going, are you planning to level it completely?!
Anna, who had been tensely standing on our side, sprang into action at the sound! She raised her wand high, its light instantly becoming incredibly bright, as if her whole body was wrapped in holy white light. She extended her slender but incredibly firm right hand toward the void and decisively slashed downward!
"[Both sides cease fire]!"
Her cool voice rang out, carrying an undeniable sense of command!
The instant her words fell, a miracle happened!
A completely transparent, nearly invisible magical wall suddenly rose up between Selene and Olivia—precisely in the middle of that explosion dust cloud! This wall seemed to have a will of its own, and as it formed, an invisible, irresistible, repulsive force emanated from it as the origin point, forcefully and domineeringly pushing toward both sides of the battlefield!
"Rumble!"
A deep, muffled sound echoed! That force was breathtakingly powerful! Whether it was the still-spreading dust, the scorching broken stones, the remaining black mist and mud, or even Selene herself and Olivia who had just blocked the explosion shockwave with newly surging mud and sand—all were pushed backward by this violent, repulsive force! The distance between them was instantly widened to a safe gap that could make anyone calm down!
All the attack aftershocks, all the magical residue, hit this "ceasefire wall" like hitting a wall of sighs, only to be futilely pushed away and dissipated. Unless someone could hold out for some super-tier magic that needed long preparation time, no one could instantly break through this barrier, let alone sneak attack the other side.
Incredible! Anna's "peacemaker" magic was amazing! Forced separation, physical isolation, battlefield clearing, and it came with a built-in "everyone calm down" crowd control effect!
Watching this forcibly pressed pause button, I almost knelt in respect. This move was more effective than a hundred mediators!
The smoke hadn't cleared yet, but Anna had already spoken, her voice carrying undisguised exhaustion and seriousness. "Now, can someone tell me what exactly happened?"
She looked at Olivia, disheveled but with undiminished fighting spirit, then at Selene, who seemed composed but had clearly expended considerable energy.
Selene spoke first, still with that calm demeanor, as if the one who had just wreaked havoc wasn't her. "That guy still suspects it was me. So I just had to... teach him a lesson." When she said "lesson," her tone was light and breezy, as if she'd merely swatted a fly, not nearly sent Jerry away and almost demolished the entire corridor.
Hearing this, Olivia's anger, which had calmed slightly, flared up again. The veins on the back of her hand, gripping the wand, bulged. "The Bone Council..." She gritted her teeth, enunciating each word, "Even without the inheritance ceremony's bounty, killing dark wizards is the right thing to do!"
I could see Anna was really struggling, caught in the middle. She knew Olivia was speaking the truth, knew Selene's identity was sensitive, and knew even more that they absolutely couldn't be allowed to fight again.
And right at this critical moment, just when everyone's attention was completely absorbed by the chaotic standoff before them...
My eyes suddenly caught a detail!
A detail I'd overlooked before, or rather, one that only now became truly glaring! It had been hiding in that chaotic scene all along, outside everyone's focal point!
About the "suspicion" Olivia mentioned... about this suddenly erupting fierce battle... about that vial flickering inside Selene's coat, its mouth open...
In that instant, all the scattered clues clicked together in my mind with an audible "snap," fitting in a crucial piece!
Just as Anna's gaze wandered back and forth, and the atmosphere fell once again into awkward and dangerous silence, I took a deep breath, suppressed the exclamation almost bursting from my lips, and spoke in a tone that even I found somewhat abrupt, yet absolutely certain:
"I think... I know who the killer is."
My voice wasn't loud, but in the suddenly quiet corridor, it was as clear as a stone dropping on ice, instantly drawing everyone's gaze.