Chapter 534 (2) - The Academys Weapon Replicator |
‘...Did someone grab the car with their bare hands?’
Dier's eyes narrowed at the chilling thought. Whether they used Aura or not, this was no ordinary feat of strength.
‘Senior Azier knew his opponent was an enemy from the moment he got in the car. That's why he didn't brake and just rammed into them.’
In other words, Azier’s enemy didn’t conceal their killing intent and waited for him.
And they were confident enough to face Azier head-on and win.
‘They were targeting Senior Azier from the start and knew he would come this way.’
Of course, knowing Azier's route wouldn't be difficult. There was a meeting at the Imperial Palace that day, and Azier attended. Naturally, it wouldn't be hard to intercept Azier on his way back to the mansion.
The important point here was that Azier didn't deviate from his path and returned to the mansion as the enemy predicted.
Therefore, Dier could make the same prediction as the enemy.
Dier stood in the middle of the road. And then he pictured Azier's invisible car in front of him. The direction from the Imperial Palace to the Roach mansion, the car was traveling in that exact direction.
Azier saw something and rammed into it without braking. Judging by the state of the hood, the opponent was directly hit by the car but grabbed it with their bare hands.
“And they threw it, sending it flying over there.”
Dier looked at the car again.
If Dier were Azier’s opponent, he would have thrown the car towards Azier. In other words, Azier was near the spot where the car was now wrecked, even for a brief moment.
‘Judging by the position, Senior Azier got out of the car when it collided with the enemy. That’s why the culprit threw the car towards where Senior Azier was.’
If he had been hit by that, Azier wouldn’t have come out unscathed. He must have dodged. The spot where Azier was now lying was also some distance away from the car.
Besides, the thought of Azier being hit by a thrown car was absurd.
‘...And, that.’
This time, Dier turned his gaze elsewhere.
A place not close to the wrecked car or Azier.
There was a spear embedded in the ground. Dier approached it.
‘It’s Senior Azier’s spear. There’s no mistaking it.’
The surroundings were generally filled with traces of battle, but this area was especially so. And during that battle, Azier’s spear was cut in half.
What was even more surprising was that this spear was quite a distance away from where Azier was now lying.
In other words, Azier wasn’t holding the spear when he collapsed.
‘Did he drop the spear during the fight with the enemy? Or did he discard it himself?’
Either way, Azier had to face his opponent empty-handed. It must have been a difficult fight.
‘...And after several exchanges, he died in that spot...’
Dier’s gaze returned to the spot where Azier first collapsed.
Azier, who was on his way back in the car, encountered the culprit and rammed the car directly into the enemy before getting out.
After that, he dodged the car thrown by the enemy and fought using his spear, but the spear was cut down, forcing him to fight barehanded. And in the end, he was dealt a fatal blow by the culprit and died on the spot.
“How is it?”
Frondier approached Dier, who was standing silently.
“I think I understand the general situation.”
Dier replied, frowning slightly.
“...But it seems I’ve reached the same conclusion as everyone here.”
If Dier’s deduction was correct, it only made it clearer how Azier died.
The culprit remained unknown, and only the reality of Azier's death became clearer.
Perhaps everyone here had arrived at the same deduction.
Frondier gave a wry smile.
“Indeed.”
A short answer.
If even Dier was saying the same thing, then it must be right.
Dier lowered his head with a heavy heart.
He wished Azier was alive. Naturally, Frondier wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Dier wished for it too.
That’s why he had secretly hoped that if he saw the scene himself, he would discover something different.
Besides, the fact that Frondier called him meant there was something suspicious, right? He had such expectations as well.
However, Azier lay dead, covered in blood.
The situation was crystal clear.
‘...?’
And then, Dier raised his head.
“...If the situation is this clear,”
“Yes?”
“Why would the culprit use such a troublesome magic?”
“Because, although we don’t know what effect it has, it was probably to kill Azier...”
Frondier tried to answer but stopped himself as he realized the contradiction.
“No, that doesn’t make sense. If they defeated Azier in battle, there’s no need to use magic.”
At first, Frondier thought Azier was defeated in battle against something unknown, and this phenomenon was the result.
The reason they couldn't touch Azier's body was because he fought a battle Frondier knew nothing about.
But looking at the situation, that wasn't the case.
The battle between Azier and the culprit was a human one, easily understood by anyone. The traces of the fight made it clear. For a fight against something unknown, this scene was too ordinary.
There was only one strange thing: the fact that they couldn't touch Azier's body right now. A magic that countless mages and healers couldn't undo.
But what if this was done by the culprit separately from the battle?
It meant the culprit didn't want anyone touching Azier's body.
Dier looked around.
‘The bloodstains are only around where Senior Azier collapsed. There are none anywhere else.’
Judging by the location of the car, the broken spear, and where Azier collapsed, the battle took place over a wide area.
And Azier didn't sustain any injuries that would cause him to bleed during that time.
Only in that spot.
He bled only where he collapsed.
‘To put it simply, he was handling things smoothly until he was hit by an unexpected blow. And that led to his death.’
That was the natural conclusion.
But the one who died this time was Azier de Roach.
What kind of "unexpected blow" could possibly take him down?
With that small question in mind, Dier approached Azier again.
"Dier?"
"I just need to check something."
Dier examined Azier.
Again, he couldn't touch him, so a detailed examination was impossible.
But what Dier wanted to check now wasn't Azier's body.
It was the blood.
“….!”
Dier brought his hand close to the pool of blood Azier had shed.
And then he knew.
He couldn't touch this blood either. It wasn’t just Azier's body that he couldn't touch. He couldn't even get close to this pool of blood.
What did this mean?
He didn't know yet.
But if, as Dier thought, the culprit used magic because they wanted to hide something.
If there was something they didn't want anyone to know about Azier's body or this blood,
then that was—
“...What if this bloodstain,”
Dier spoke to Frondier.
To the one who had already arrived at the same thought.
“What if it's not Senior Azier’s blood?”
