Chapter 158 : Chapter 158

Chapter 158. Conviction

A thunderous explosion suddenly rang out across the whole of Ged Town, making countless people stop what they were doing and look toward the source of the sound.

A streak of red light and thick black smoke also rose into the sky, and some people had already recognized that the place was Caleb’s residence.

Returning to Caleb’s home, after casting Fireburst, Caleb had just been about to flee when, within the smoke, he saw a thin pale-yellow membrane.

A silver longsword pierced through the smoke, allowing Caleb to see the fair, delicate hand gripping the sword.

She was still unharmed?

Suspicion surged through Caleb’s heart, and he could scarcely believe what he was seeing.

Fireburst was one of the signature spells of the Elemental School. Among all First-Tier spells, Fireburst could rank within the top ten, yet it had failed to inflict the slightest injury on his opponent.

It had not even shattered her trigger-type shield spell, and that made Caleb frown.

For an instant, he considered ignoring everything and fleeing at once, only to see, within the smoke, an invisible current carrying black mist as it shot toward him.

His trigger-type shield spell shattered in an instant, and the yellow ring on his hand dimmed. He only barely avoided the attack by snapping his head to the side, but the current still sliced a bloody line across his face.

“What the hell? Why can’t my trigger-type shield spell even block a basic Wind Blade?” Caleb darted aside, trying to use the dust and smoke raised by Fireburst to conceal his movements.

What Caleb did not know was that Fulan, as an artisan capable of crafting spell rings, had specifically made five trigger-type shield spells and strung them into a necklace hanging around her neck.

Although maintaining five spell rings at all times was a bit of a burden on Fulan, under the spiritual strength produced by the stacking of her multiple professions, the consumption was barely worth mentioning.

Moreover, Fulan’s shield spell also benefited from the earth-element activation bonus of her trait [Breath of the Earth Drake], making the shield even sturdier.

Even so, the three trigger-type shield spells on Fulan’s body had all dimmed in succession. Only the fourth shield had successfully blocked the attack.

“That was close. This robe almost would have been damaged,” Fulan thought in relief.

Fortunately, the trait she had gained after hunting the Earth Drake could strengthen her shield spell.

Otherwise, even if punching through all five shields would not have been a big problem, she still had [Hard Scale Rock] on her body. Blocking even two Firebursts would have been easy.

But if it had come to that, the mage robe she was wearing would have suffered instead.

This was a mage robe to which Fulan had deliberately applied a great many magical treatments after obtaining it.

It could keep her cool, maintain airflow, enhance spells, and perform various other functions. The material costs alone had run her ten gold coins.

Caleb had only just withdrawn into the black smoke and had not even managed to catch a breath before he saw, in the distance, the dark haze seem to outline a human figure. His pupils contracted, and he hastily hurled a fireball over.

The fireball passed through the black smoke without causing any harm, while off to one side, Dante’s figure emerged. In his hand he held a black sword whose blade gleamed with cold light.

What he had just used was an Invisibility Spell, which concealed his body. He had intended to use it to launch a sneak attack, only to be detected immediately.

By this point, the black smoke had almost completely dispersed, and only a few sparse wisps still drifted slowly upward through the air.

Fulan also leveled her longsword at Caleb. Her body had sunk slightly downward, the result of the aftershock remaining after Fireburst had been absorbed by her shield spell.

The bricks on the ground had nearly been blasted to pieces. The entire floor looked as though it had been torn up, leaving nothing but devastation in sight.

Dante was grinning from ear to ear, his emotions running high, and he licked his lips at Caleb. He felt as though he had never been in a better mood in his life.

That Caleb had actually attacked them directly. What did that mean? It meant Caleb absolutely had a problem. Otherwise, assaulting an investigator was unquestionably a grave crime.

He was about to complete the tasks assigned to him by four high-tier mages. He hardly dared imagine what kind of rewards each of those big figures might spare from their own hands for him once he succeeded.

In stark contrast to Dante stood Caleb, his face dark and his right hand trembling uncontrollably.

He wanted to run, to get far away from here. He did not want to remain in this place for even a moment. His emotions were urging him to flee at once. That emotion was fear.

But his reason was telling him that he could not run now. Running meant no chance of survival. Only by staying and killing one of the two did he have any hope of living.

There was absolutely no way he could outrun a Sword Chant School mage fighting without any burden, and the moment he saw Dante set himself into the stance of a sword dance, he understood that.

The atmosphere fell silent. Neither side moved.

In the end, Caleb was the first to lose patience and decided to strike.

He could not drag this out. Once the commotion here attracted the other First-Tier professionals in Ged Town, he had no confidence that, with his opponents dressed in investigator uniforms, he could pull the newcomers over to his side.

“Fire Wall!”

A wall of flame suddenly sprang up between the two sides. The wall was three meters high, and the surging flames made it impossible for either side to see what was happening beyond it.

Behind the wall of fire, Caleb began preparing yet another Fireburst. He intended to make his opponents think he had raised the wall in preparation for escape, only to blast them viciously with Fireburst when they lowered their guard.

Casting so many instant spells in succession made his face go pale. He understood that after one more Fireburst, he would probably faint on the spot, so victory or defeat would be decided by this single spell.

But things did not proceed as he had expected.

A streak of purple light flew out from within the wall of fire, carrying blue-white radiance with it.

The light was too fast, and Caleb was in the middle of preparing Fireburst. There was no way for him to dodge.

The purple streak plunged straight into his chest. The immense force made his body pitch backward, and he staggered back two steps, nearly falling.

Before he could even react, a burst of cold erupted from his chest, and without a trigger-type shield spell, Caleb had no way to resist it.

The wall of fire lost Caleb’s spiritual support, and the flames suddenly dropped, leaving only a few small tongues of fire on the ground, giving off a warm glow.

And once the wall of fire fell, what the enforcers present felt was not a trace of heat, but a piercing cold, as well as the terror of seeming to be stared at by some kind of savage beast.

At this moment, Caleb’s entire body had already been sealed in ice. A purple short sword was still embedded in his chest, with only the hilt left protruding outside.

The entire blade had pierced into his body, caving his chest inward.

Dante sucked in a breath of cold air. As a mage, he could recognize the enormous wave of ice elemental power erupting from that purple short sword.

He could not help but marvel.

As expected of the disciple of a Fourth-Tier Mage. She actually had such a powerful weapon on her.

He drew back his thoughts and began issuing orders.

“Mage Caleb Walker, on suspicion of murdering a mage and assaulting an investigator during the execution of official duties, you are to be taken into custody immediately and subjected to Spell Interrogation...”