"Devour."
Osiris had time for only one loud scream of pain as the maw of darkness opened beneath him, surging out from the floor to take a gulp of the treat that had been left out for it.
[Existing Spell Detected]
[New Spell Fusion Created]
[Will you like to upgrade Soul Pyre to SSS-rank?]
[Yes/No]
"Interesting." Noah stared at the screen, a smile on his face. "So, if I devour a monster I’ve already devoured before, or I already have the spell I get from devouring a monster, I can upgrade the spell? Sweet."
He tilted his head, thinking about it.
Soul Pyre was a spell he could cast now, while the SSS-rank spell he could get would be an investment for the future, that he couldn’t cast now.
The choice was easy. He already had a diamond spell token that could give him other spells, not to mention that he could simply Devour them from another monster.
Without hesitation, he tapped "Yes."
Ding!
[New Spell Unlocked]
[Utter Annihilation - SSS-rank spell]
[Caster creates a wave of fire around them that burns its victims down to their very essence. Once touched by the wave, the very idea of them ceases to exist from that moment forward.]
’Is this...’ Noah stared, eyes wide.
This was the power of an SSS-rank spell. It could reach into the person’s very essence, and erase it from the linear timeline.
That means even if someone was to go back in time to try and rescue the person, they wouldn’t be able to. The person would stay dead, because their essence has been erased.
"Sweet!" He grinned, pumping a fist.
He looked around the room, surveying it. The chain hung empty, but Osiris’ limbs still laid on the sinks, blood around them. That was evidence he had to erase.
He stretched a hand. "Devour."
The maw of darkness appeared, devouring the entire sink, with the blood and limbs on it.
[Mana Capacity increased temporary]
[S → S+]
Noah grinned at the sight, before surveying the room one last time.
There were no traces of what had just happened, and definitely no traces of Osiris’ presence.
"Perfect."
Whistling a tune to himself, he dispersed his shadows, who had been covering every surface, stopping sound from travelling out of the room, before making his way outside.
The sun had set, and the beautiful light of the moon was out in the sky. It was just after dusk, the students going about their nightly activities before it was time for curfew.
Noah stood there for almost a minute, breathing the air, with his hands in his pocket.
He’d just killed the man that had tormented him. It felt... good. It felt cathartic. Like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
With a final nod, he set off down the school path, heading towards the cafeteria. He’d spent so many hours giving Osiris a taste of his own medicine, that food had completely skipped his mind.
Not to mention that he had missed Theriology class, and had spent the entire day out of the public eye.
That didn’t matter to him. Killing Osiris was worth it. Now, there was one less scum in the world.
Noah made his way to the cafeteria, hoping they hadn’t closed up. Fortunately, the building was still open.
He entered, getting himself a tray of the perpetually warm food.
As he ate, he began sorting through his next priorities.
There was Leo Hargreaves, but that was a minor issue.
The major issue was Juniper’s father, Lord Rowe. The man had sent assassins to him. That couldn’t be allowed to stand. But at the same time, Noah could understand the man’s grief.
When his parents had died, back when he was 13, he’d directed his rage at everyone, including those who tried to help him.
So, he decided. He’d capture the ones who killed Juniper and make them pay. And in the process, he’d bring peace to the man and his family.
If he wanted to do all that, it meant he needed to begin learning all the spells he’d retrieved from the school’s spell vault. But that was a task for tomorrow.
Remembering all the spell parchments in his pocket reminded him of something just as important. A spatial ring. And there was one place he could get it.
Finishing his meal, he topped it off with a long draught of water. Standing, he left the academy, and began making his way through academy grounds, heading towards Cecilia’s office.
A few minutes later, he was in front of her door. He knocked, and she answered from inside. "Come in."
He opened the door and walked in. The room was illuminated with torches, and Cecilia was sitting behind her desk.
She glanced up at him, but quickly turned back to the documents she was going through.
"Noah," she said. "Any problems?"
"No, professor. I just have a few questions."
She finally looked up to him with a frown on her face. "What’s wrong?"
"Nothing." He quickly clarified. "I just wanted to know. What happened with Lord Rowe? And the Investigation?"
Cecilia exhaled, leaning back in her chair. Partially from relief, and partially from exhaustion.
"Nothing much happened." Cecilia said. "Lord Rowe had a meeting with the principal, and then after giving his instructions to his agents, left the academy grounds."
She glanced at the window behind her, taking in the darkness of the sky. "Most of the Investigation Authority agents should be gone, but from what I heard, two of them had been left behind to try to recreate the scene of the crime under the moonlight, which was when the crime occurred."
"Don’t worry." She smiled. "The agents will be under constant guard. You can sleep well tonight."
"Ah, I see." Noah nodded, he noticed that Cecilia avoided speaking about the investigation itself, but he didn’t mind.
"Professor," he said, "can I have a spatial ring?"
She raised a brow in question.
"I got a few spell parchments from the library, but I don’t think my satchel is secure enough for me to leave them in."
She nodded. "Good thing you came to me."
She reached into a drawer in her desk, pulling out a plain silver ring. "Here you go. Don’t lose it. It’s expensive."
Swiping it off the table, Noah stood, a smile on his face. "Thanks, professor."
She waved off his thanks, returning to her document.
And so, he left her office.