From the second day onwards, the atmosphere in the castle began to grow tense.
After breakfast in the dining hall, everyone entered the standard state of mysticism. Each person tried their best to maintain a solitary state, not communicating with the outside world. Even meals were delivered to their rooms by the castle servants.
This morning's meal became the last meal everyone attended together. It was the prelude to the battle for Geryon Ashborn's inheritance, as well as a signal and farewell between magus.
If there were any exceptions, it would probably be only Shinji and Gray, the two young people who had no intention of solving the mystery from the start. However, because everyone else maintained their mysticism, the two were essentially isolated.
They didn't mind this. Judging by how Gray wore her hood all day, not showing her face, it was clear she wasn't good at interacting with people. The more people around, the more uncomfortable she felt. Shinji, knowing something was amiss, took the opportunity to teach Gray, not expecting her to be of much help, but at least hoping she wouldn't drag him down in battle.
Soon, an incident occurred.
Someone died.
In the dead of night, before dawn, in the center of the great hall, at the location of the stairwell.
There stood a huge angel statue, the angel holding a sword and scales. Among the many angels, this was the symbol exclusive to Michael—the scales judging the sins of the dead, the sword repelling Satan.
But this time, Michael's sword pierced not Satan, but a woman.
A furisode kimono hung on the angel statue, adding to the mystery. Even the blood that stained the angel's sword couldn't diminish this beauty. Even though the blood had begun to coagulate and turn black, the fact that the impaled woman was so captivating remained unchanged.
Hishiri Adashino!!!
All the invited magus recognized the identity of the deceased.
"...Mmph!"
Gray involuntarily covered her mouth. As a grave keeper, she wasn't unfamiliar with corpses, but the body before her was somewhat different.
Her eyes, those beautiful black pearl-like eyes, had been cruelly gouged out.
"I'll get her down," Heine gently reached out towards the statue.
No one objected. The magus was long accustomed to death and knew how to handle such situations, except for Rosalind, who was still a child.
Metallic threads as thin as hair extended from Heine's hand, instantly cutting through the statue's sword. He gently caught Hishiri's body. Not caring about dirtying his suit, he carefully placed the body on the floor, hesitated for a moment, then lifted the kimono wrapping the body.
"Excuse me."
Still, no one spoke. While Heine examined the body, the magus also used their methods to confirm the woman's cause of death.
The eyes had been violently gouged out by what seemed to be large claw-like implements and a large area of the back had also been stripped away, presumably the magic crest—normally, as long as the magic crest remained, a magus wouldn't die easily, even if fatally wounded they could cling to life for a while.
In the sleeve of the kimono was a letter containing an invitation identical to those of the other invitees, the only difference being the name of the invitee and the corresponding angel name.
Someone involuntarily recited the last words they had heard yesterday.
"—Ask for the name of the angel."
"Those who cannot answer the question shall be stripped by the angel."
Angel name.
Stripped.
They had thought this sentence itself was also a puzzle, but it turned out to be such a simple and brutal literal meaning.
The pattern of stripping was soon deduced by the magus, related to each person's angel name.
The angel names of the Castle of Separation followed the Kabbalistic system, one of the foundations of magic. Hishiri Adashino's angel name was Hahasiah, an angel with Aries as its ruling sign.
Aries is the first house of the zodiac, and according to the theory of the macrocosm corresponding to the human microcosm, the protected part is the head, and Hahasiah specifically protects the eyes.
Aries the first house, Hahasiah strips the eyes.
The invitation was not just an invitation, but also a death notice, foretelling how you would die.
So who would be next? Taurus? Or another Aries? After all, there are seventy-two angels in the Kabbalistic system, and which part would be stripped next?
Silence.
A strange atmosphere permeated the air. There was no fear, no sorrow, only distrust of those around and an equal measure of excitement.
Gray, with her strong spiritual medium constitution, caught these emotions, but she didn't understand them. After returning to their room, she voiced her confusion.
"This is quite easy to understand," Shinji replied while making some preparations.
"Among those gathered at the Castle Adra, Hishiri Adashino was the only one who knew Ashborn's secret technique and had no need to obtain it. She was also a symbol of the rules."
"Her death indicates two things. First, there is an extremely valuable treasure here, otherwise, no one would dare risk being hunted by the Department of Policies to kill Hishiri Adashino. Second, with Hishiri Adashino dead, the rules enforced by the threat of the Department of Policies are gone. What follows is the reality of the magical world I told you about the day before yesterday—survival of the fittest."
Gray recalled the various voices she had heard not long ago, and the emotions they revealed.
Self-importance.
Hostility.
Curiosity.
Greed.
These emotions intertwined, like a gathering of demons laughing loudly on a stormy night.
At this moment, Gray finally understood that this was not simply solving puzzles and treasure hunting, but something much deeper. The mystery was no longer something waiting to be solved, but a kind of bait, an ominous shadow.
"Instructor, what should we do?"
"Everyone is getting restless, so naturally we can't sit idle. Take this, bring the map I drew, and keep a close eye on one person."
"Who?"
"Heine Istari."
"Mr. Heine?"
There was obvious hesitation on Gray's face, showing that she had a very good impression of Heine.
"Instructor, do you think he's the one who killed Miss Hishiri? Because he was the first to discover the body."
"No, quite the opposite. I think he might be the next victim."
"Ehhhhh?!"
"A certain elementary school student who never grows up told us that the first to discover the body is often not the culprit—ahem, sorry, I forgot you're not that otaku Waver, you don't read the manga. Seriously though, on the night the body was discovered, my intuition told me that Heine left his room very early and didn't return until the body was found. If he were the culprit, there would be no need to risk suspicion by being the first to discover the body. If he's not, then he might have discovered something, and it would make sense for the real culprit to silence him—Miss Rosalind is only eight years old, how could she bear the shock of losing her brother."
"Hoho, I didn't know you had such a hobby," Add's voice rang out, spoiling the mood.