Chapter 89 : Chapter 89

Chapter 89. Suspicion

“Look at what we have here—a typical case of transporting an Extraordinary Organ without declaration.”

Calf quickly reacted and pointed to the corpse’s chest.

“If I am not mistaken, this Extraordinary Organ should be the Iron Heart. Its function is to provide stronger cardiac support. One could say it serves as the foundation for a body to bear more Extraordinary Organs.”

“The materials required are a strong heart and a specially prepared metal solution. Three days after the heart is removed from the body, it is submerged in that solution, and the Iron Heart will be formed.”

“When I was still in the Modification School, I wanted to make one myself. Unfortunately, I could never obtain a sufficiently strong heart.”

“I remember that Losqi had not yet become a formal mage at the time, but he was already responsible for managing apprentices like us. He directly rejected my request to purchase a heart, saying things like the number of hearts that could be declared was limited and that supply was scarce.”

At that moment, Lucy spoke in a gentle tone.

“You remember correctly. However, the way we produce Iron Hearts has changed now. You may not know about it.”

“Instead of letting the heart leave the body, we now use a special method to kill the subject while keeping the heart beating. Then the entire corpse is immersed in the solution. After all, metal is cheap.”

“The Iron Hearts produced this way are even more effective. We call them Iron Heart Type III.”

“But even after so many years, the fact that you still remember the specific method is impressive. Would you like to return to the Modification School? I believe you have great potential.”

Calf sneered at her words and asked in return, “If I returned now, would you immediately teach me how to implant the Iron Heart into my body?”

“No,” Lucy replied lightly. “You must achieve certain accomplishments before such knowledge can be taught. That is a rule personally required by the Chief Seat. Apprentices only need to obtain a ranking in the assessment, but a formal mage like you might have to go to Antir and help the school collect a thousand corpses.”

“I knew it. The Modification School has not changed at all…”

Calf’s expression hardened.

“Now perhaps you should explain why your school illegally ordered this Extraordinary Organ.”

Lucy’s voice turned cold again.

“Why must it be our Modification School? Could it not be someone from your Necromancy School who suddenly wanted to study how Extraordinary Organs might enhance necromantic spells?”

“There you go again.” Calf loosened his neck slightly, feeling the pain ease a little before continuing.

“Why not say that the person who ambushed me earlier simply picked up Richter’s notebook and taught himself to become a formal mage from it, and that he actually belongs to no school at all?”

“That is possible,” Lucy replied calmly.

“I do not wish to repeat this argument with you. You can explain it in court later and see whether the Alliance officials accept your explanation.”

“Everyone, return to the enforcement headquarters.”

Calf turned and left immediately.

There was nothing else of interest at the scene. With the corpse containing an Extraordinary Organ already in his possession, he had enough to cause trouble for the Modification School.

Besides, if the search continued, that woman would certainly interfere.

When the enforcement officers heard the order, they felt as though they had been granted amnesty. None of them wanted to remain in that foul-smelling place any longer.

They quickly gathered their belongings and followed Calf away.

After walking some distance, Calf glanced at the enforcement officer who had told him there was something suspicious inside the corpse bag.

“Tell me how you discovered that corpse.”

“Yes, sir… At the time, no one wanted to search inside. A few of us went in, intending to casually check one or two corpse bags and leave. But unexpectedly, the second bag we opened contained exactly what you were looking for.”

“When I saw that the man’s chest was glowing, I immediately knew it was the corpse with the Extraordinary Organ you wanted us to find. So I rushed out to report it…”

“And then everything happened as you saw.”

Calf nodded and motioned for the man to return to the group.

Still, something felt wrong.

What had been the attacker’s objective?

Even if that corpse had been discovered, the one in trouble would have been the Modification School. What did that have to do with the attacker?

He thought about it for a long time but could not find an answer.

---

Lucy watched as all the enforcement officers followed Calf away. Then she signaled to two apprentices who were still present.

“Bring that corpse out and open it.”

The two apprentices obeyed. They went behind the warehouse-like building nearby, retrieved a corpse bag, and carried it over.

They quickly opened part of the bag, revealing what was inside.

Within it lay a horribly mutilated corpse.

Despite the fact that nearly half the face was missing, it was still possible to identify the person as Beloli—the former main leader of the Modification School in the City of Apprentices.

To conceal this corpse, Lucy had just used a memory-altering method, replacing the memories of the enforcement officer who had seen the body.

Fortunately, Calf himself had not looked inside the corpse bag. Otherwise, she could not guarantee whether memory alteration would work on a formal mage.

The corpse bag had been secretly swapped after she used another method to briefly control everyone present. To them, it had only felt like a momentary lapse in consciousness.

The real reason she had done all this was the attacker who had ambushed Calf.

If Beloli’s corpse had merely been discovered, it would not have mattered much. Let it be public if necessary.

If the Alliance wished to appoint someone else to investigate Beloli’s death, Lucy would actually welcome it. After all, having less work would be a relief.

When the attack occurred, Lucy had not been far from the location.

She had received the news at the school’s headquarters early on that Calf had surrounded the corpse delivery point with enforcement officers.

Originally, she had been heading there at an unhurried pace. Her intention had simply been to see what they discovered after the search, so she could prepare accordingly. Since the Alliance had already begun the inspection, she could not openly stop them.

However, when she sensed the magical fluctuations released by the attacker and the spell specialization he demonstrated from a distance, she realized the situation was serious and rushed over immediately.

But the attacker had fled too quickly. By the time she arrived, he had already vanished, leaving behind only the unconscious Calf and a group of confused enforcement officers.

After using her mental perception to examine the contents of the corpse bag, she acted at once, concealing Beloli’s corpse.

She knew better than anyone that a formal mage possessing spell specialization had to be someone from within the school, given how strictly knowledge was controlled.

And since both the corpse and the attacker had appeared at the same place, the implication was obvious.

Someone within the Modification School had killed Beloli.

This matter could not be discovered by the Alliance. It could not even be known by the upper leadership of the Modification School.

Otherwise, the position she had carefully maintained for so many years would be lost.

Who could the attacker be?

Among the formal mages of the Modification School in the City of Apprentices—aside from a few elderly men enjoying their retirement—there seemed to be only Losqi left.