Chapter 195: Heist (1)

Michael watched on in stunned awe as the figure stood with his hands wide, casting some unknown spell. It wasn’t until he saw flickers of mana in the distance that he realized just what was going on.

He’s disabling the wards? Is that even possible?

It turned out it was indeed possible. After a few minutes, the hooded figure lowered his arms and made a signal towards the tree line. It was then that the group broke into action, dashing towards the now unprotected castle.

Michael once again felt the wind kiss his skin. He could sense a vague feeling of anticipation from the person he was inhabiting, as if they’d been waiting for this moment for a very long time.

It was odd, but he was merely a bystander and could only watch on as the group descended on the castle. Instead of breaking in through the ground floor, the hooded figures climbed the walls stealthily.

Despite no one making a sound or communicating at all, over twenty figures appeared on the roof of the castle, spread out amongst the tall spires that stood in each cardinal direction.

There were more people gathered at the northern spire, causing Michael’s eyes to narrow.

Isn’t that where the headmaster’s office is? He thought silently.

He wasn’t sure what kind of changes the academy had gone through over the years in terms of layout, but if this was the present day—the northern spire was indeed where the man’s office was located.

For a few minutes, everything was silent and no one made a move. The tense silence was unsettling, and the vague sense of excitement he was feeling from the host gave Michael a sense of foreboding.

Just when he couldn’t take it any longer, a large explosion shook the castle, causing it to quiver beneath his feet. The sound jolted Michael’s mind, sending him into disarray.

But there was no time to recover as the body he was inhbating moved right away, breaking the glass and entering into the spire with grace.

As soon as they touched down into the dark room, all the figures moved with efficiency and purpose, each with clear goals. The shrill sound of an alarm echoed within the castle, alerting everyone to the danger, but his host and the others ignored it.

A moment later he was rushing down the halls as explosions rocked the castle again and again. The mana in the air was chaotic, as if battles were being fought everywhere, casting a grim atmosphere.

Michael saw a figure dressed in the faculty uniform of the academy appear in front of his host, already chanting a spell. A green magic circle appeared in front of him before a torrent of flames erupted towards the host.

The heat was immense, almost like a firestorm.

But the person Michael was inhabiting was ready. He produced an artifact and held it up in front of him. The item activated, casting a honeycomb-shaped shield dome around himself, easily blocking the powerful spell.

Before the faculty could cast another attacking spell, Michael saw a sword emerge from his abdomen from the back. The guy let out a muffled scream, quickly falling to his knees as blood sprayed out from the wound.

Then his head was cleanly chopped off his shoulders, causing it to roll along the ground towards the foot of the host. Michael felt the bile rise within his stomach, though he was only in soul form at the moment.

Seeing the macabre sight was hard on his psyche, but he couldn’t turn away. Something about the head was familiar, as if he’d seen the face at some point before.

Michael felt a sense of foreboding before he shook his head inwardly.

I’ve probably seen his portrait in the castle or something. If he died while trying to protect the castle from attackers, it wouldn’t be surprising if he got a memorial,

Michael concluded, trying to calm his beating heart.

Everything felt so real, and since he was familiar with the academy, it made it feel even more corporeal.

Calm down, there must be a reason why I’m being shown this attack from the past, he told himself, taking a deep breath. It could be possible that something like this would occur again in the future, or perhaps he would be able to at least identify the faction who attacked.

Once the threat was dealt with, the figure dismissed his artifact and continued through the winding halls with clear purpose. They didn’t run into any other faculty members or security before their destination was reached.

“Take down the wards.” A gravelly voice came out of Michael’s host, sounding foreign—almost inhuman. Michael felt an instinctive repulsion after hearing it, like it was something not native to this world.

There was indeed magic that could alter one’s appearance and mask one’s voice, but he had never heard anything like this before.

Instead of responding, the others alongside his host complied, walking over to the large and seemingly normal looking door at the end of the corridor. They took out small wooden stave’s, smaller versions of the staff the hooded figure had used to take down the wards surrounding the castle.

The two chanted softly, causing green magic circles to appear beneath the stave’s. The air shimmered for a while before sparks of mana rippled across the door like shockwaves.

Only after the mana completely dissipated did the two hooded figures lower their arms and step aside, deferring to Michael’s host nearby.

“Go.”

A single word was all he said, but Michael could feel the longing of his host, as if whatever was behind this door was something he’d been wanting for the longest time.

The door was blasted open, falling of its hinges after being struck with a magic missile. Michael’s eyes focused on what laid beyond the doors and felt nothing but shock.

In front of him was a large glowing stone in the center of an otherwise empty circular room. It was pure white, shaped like an icosahedron, spinning slowly as it floated a few feet off the ground.

Michael’s breath hitched.

Is that the Aetherheart?

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