Dago looked at the scorched deep pit with a complicated expression. Although the power of the Flame Core Air Bullet was immense, it had many drawbacks, such as high mana consumption and long charging time.
The biggest disadvantage was that no spoils of war could be kept; it directly reduced enemies to ashes, truly a one-step solution.
However, on second thought, it was a great fortune to be alive; what more spoils of war could he want?
Dago took a deep breath and murmured, “It feels good to be alive.”
Next, there was a lot of aftermath work to do and many Wizard investigations to evade.
Too many people had died this time, especially a Half-step Formal Witches from the Academy, so the Academy would surely investigate to the end.
Late at night, with the sky overcast, the fields were dead silent, becoming a paradise of darkness.
Only the flickering firelight from the top of the nearby watchtower swayed in the wind, like a lighthouse.
Dago, dragging his weary and scarred body, slowly walked to the watchtower. The wooden house had completely burned down, turning into a pile of charred ruins.
He continued to move his body to the area where Old Marico's body was located.
Earlier, the sparks from Raymond's fireball had completely burned Old Marico's body, leaving only a small amount of ashes.
Dago, using the firelight from the watchtower, collected the ashes little by little and put them into his storage pouch.
Just then, a rustling sound came from a distance.
He directed his Detection Art towards the source of the sound, and a familiar Spiritual fluctuation came through; it was Serena.
She stealthily covered her body with a cloak, crouched, and approached Dago step by step.
Dago shouted at her, “Serena, come out, I am Dago.”
Upon hearing this, Serena pulled off her cloak and quickly ran towards Dago.
The light in her eyes was like a suddenly ignited spark, instantly blindingly bright.
Before Dago could react, she had already pounced on him, her arms tightly wrapped around his neck, her whole body practically hanging on him.
“This is great!” Serena's voice was filled with laughter, her tail end trembling with joy, her shoulders gently shaking from uncontrollable happiness.
Dago was knocked back half a step by her before he steadied himself. He could clearly feel her pounding heartbeat in her chest and her unreserved joy.
He patted Serena's back to comfort her, then broke free. They still had many things to deal with, and time was short with heavy tasks.
Serena's joyous expression turned to apology after seeing Dago's scarred body. She immediately took out the healing potion and Mental Potion from her person and handed them to him.
Then she chanted a spell at Dago, casting a healing spell.
Dago uncorked the two bottles of potion and drank them in one gulp; his own magical potions had long been depleted in battle.
The effects of the potions were immediate; his complexion improved significantly, and the burning sensation on his body also lessened greatly.
After a while, Dago's body recovered significantly. He tore off the remaining strips of his cloak around him.
He pondered how to deal with the Academy's investigation. First, out of an entire patrol team, only the two of them survived, which was inherently very unreasonable.
However, the only Wizards who truly died by Dago's hand were Raymond and Viser, and they were basically reduced to ashes, making it difficult to trace back to him.
No one would have thought that Dago could kill Raymond; even if he said it, no one at the Academy would believe him.
So, the main thing was to create an alibi. After discussing with Serena, Dago made some misleading alterations to the scene, erasing their traces.
Then they created the illusion of a panicked escape towards the forest, discarding some personal belongings on the path leading to the forest.
The two walked towards the forest, discarding torn strips of their cloaks along the way.
Although Dago was worried that the Academy might have extraordinary detection methods, this was not something he could prevent, so he could only leave it to fate.
Besides, if they completely fell out, Dago could only become a Black Robe Wizard. For the Wizarding World, Black Robes or White Robes were not important; only strength mattered most.
Dago and Serena took a long detour and returned directly to the Wizard Inn.
Dago looked at the somewhat uneasy Serena and comforted her, saying, “So much has happened today. Go back and get some good rest. Don't worry, everything will be alright.”
Serena nodded, and the two returned to their respective rooms.
Dago took off his tattered robe, got some hot water from the bathroom, and wiped the mixture of blood and mud from his body with a towel.
Although there were extraordinary potions and healing spells, the healing of wounds still required a certain amount of time.
After dealing with his wounds, Dago lay directly on the bed and fell into a deep sleep; he was too tired today.
............
The next morning, the weather was clear, in the courtyard of the Wizard Inn.
Despite the sunlight, their mood at this time was still as heavy and cold as the wind blowing outside.
Under the old plum tree in the corner of the courtyard, there was a fresh mound of earth, in which Old Marico's urn was buried. Dago had already bought this plot of land from the people at the Wizard Inn.
They had wanted to take him back to the treehouse in the forest for burial, but the forest was basically a semi-fallen zone, forbidden to entry and exit by the Academy.
On the earth lay a faded, worn-out robe, the one Old Marico often wore when he was alive, with frayed edges still on the collar, now neatly folded, as if its owner had only temporarily departed.
“Old Marico, it's getting cold. I brought you some wine.”
Dago's voice was very low, as if afraid to disturb someone. As he spoke, he poured wine into a pottery cup and slowly sprinkled it in front of the earth. As the wine seeped into the soil, tiny bubbles even appeared.
The memorial ceremony was simple, almost perfunctory. He and Serena just stood quietly, occasionally adding some wine, or tidying up the robe that had been ruffled by the wind.
When the sun climbed to its zenith, the Academy's investigating Wizards came looking for the two of them. Dago pressed a stone on the folded robe and, as he turned to leave, his footsteps were extremely light.
Then the two of them followed several investigating Wizards out of the Wizard Inn and arrived at the Academy's castle, where they were blindfolded and led to a sealed room—the most mysterious interrogation room in the Academy.
The stone walls of the interrogation room exuded a chill, and twelve obsidian pillars carved with runes cast distorted shadows under the candlelight.
The two being interrogated sat in the center of the runic array, their wrists locked by silver shackles. Every time he moved, the shackles glowed with a faint blue light.
The presiding Academy Wizard sat in a high-backed chair, tapping the Academy's legal code on the table with his fingertips, his voice as steady as a frozen lake: “I ask you for the third time, what happened to the Town patrol team last night?”
The candlelight suddenly flickered. Dago abruptly looked up, and a drop of sweat from his temple fell onto the runic array, sparking a circle of tiny flames.
“I've already said it,” he said, his voice hoarse, his Adam's apple bobbing. “Serena and I returned from patrol and saw bodies everywhere and a Black Robe Wizard. Lord Raymond fought him to save us, and we fled into the forest.”
“Oh, really? Then why are only the two of you alive, while everyone else died, and even Raymond is gone without a trace, with no one to corroborate?”
“We only need the truth. Since you are so certain of what you say, I will now cast a Truth Spell. If either of you lies, it will be detected by the Truth Spell.”
The Academy Wizard stopped tapping his finger, chanted a spell, and drew his wand, pointing it at the central runic array.
The candlelight flickered again, stretching the shadows of the twelve stone pillars, as if countless eyes were silently watching this trial from the cracks in the stones.
Dago's shoulders trembled, and the shackles' runes tightened abruptly, cutting several blood marks. He thought bitterly, “It seems I'm going to meet my end here today.”
The runic array suddenly hummed, and an inexplicable energy surged forth, then went straight into the Spiritual Space of the two of them.
In an instant, Serena seemed to have lost her soul, her eyes instantly vacant and dazed as she sat in the chair.
When this Spiritual energy appeared in Dago's Spiritual Space, it was instantly extinguished by the surging waves of the endless black sea, without even a ripple.
Dago mimicked Serena's lost-minded appearance, sitting Silly on the chair.
The presiding Academy Wizard spoke directly, asking three questions: “Have you betrayed the Academy? Have you participated in killing the Academy Wizard? Do you know what happened to Raymond?”
After hearing this, Dago and Serena uttered, “No, no, no,” without any emotion in their voices.
The runes on one of the twelve stone pillars lit up green. The presiding Academy Wizard's breathing became a little hurried, and he stopped channeling mental power to the runic array, looking quite exhausted.
The runic array stopped humming, Serena's consciousness gradually returned, her face as pale as paper, while Dago painfully clutched his head, covering his not-so-pale face.
The Academy Wizard said to the two who had regained their senses: “You have passed the Truth Spell audit. This spell has some minor side effects on the soul. You can go back and rest well.”
“We will not wrong a good person, nor will we ever let go of a bad person.”
After speaking, he got up and left the interrogation room. Not long after, several investigating Wizards came in with blindfolds, put them on their heads, and helped them out of the interrogation room.