novelraw Chapter 20: Witches' Research Society
Chapter 20: Witches' Research Society
The following days were quite idle for Fischer. He had orderly handled all the pending matters back in Nary, and now all he needed to do daily was wait at home for the results to come through. Meanwhile, he also prepared for his upcoming lectures at the Royal Academy and Saint Nary University, since the autumn semester in Nary was about to start in just a few days.
On the Monday of the following week, as planned with Damian, the latest issue of the Nary Journal published Fischer’s article titled "Theory and Proof of the Source of Magic." Co-authored by Fischer and Helson, the article exploded onto the academic scene like a bomb, instantly igniting the long-dormant scholarly community in Nary.
Researchers at the Royal Academy learned of this news immediately. Seeing Fischer produce new results again, they feared the principal Damian’s wrath so much that they even stopped visiting the Pink Pavilion, enduring the situation until Fischer’s spotlight dimmed.
They thought the situation might improve once the autumn semester began, but little did they know that at the opening ceremony, that devilish Fischer would bring them yet another major surprise.
Fischer’s rental apartment was nearly overwhelmed by a flood of various letters. One type was congratulatory letters from various academic institutions and private individuals; another was academic debates, with some scholars puzzled about certain points in the paper and requesting Fischer’s clarifications; there were also invitations from various magical artifact companies in Nary, trying to discuss the commercial potential of soul-type magic.
It had to be said, those guys were quite sensitive to the scent of money.
At first, Fischer intended to review those letters, but as they piled up excessively, he had no choice but to stack them aside and wait until he had free time. After all, not every letter required immediate attention.
“Fischer!”
Several days passed in this routine until near noon on Thursday, when Fischer, preparing his speech upstairs, was interrupted by Martha’s voice from downstairs. He initially thought it was another delivery.
“Just leave it down there, I’ll get it when I come down for lunch!”“No, there’s a guest looking for you!”
A guest?
Fischer put down his speech manuscript, considered for a moment, changed one word in the draft to a harsher one, then set the manuscript on the table. After buttoning up his shirt, he went downstairs.
Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Fischer was stunned by the scene in his living room.
Several people wearing dark trench coats and long hats marked with a knight’s sword emblem stood inside his home. They were the police maintaining order in Nary. Every district had a dedicated police station, but these officers’ attire was unlike ordinary police.
“Hello, Mr. Fischer.”
The one speaking to Fischer was not just any of those officers. Behind them, a woman sitting on the sofa opposite Martha stood and looked toward Fischer on the stairs, greeting him first.
The woman wore clothing similar to the other officers but had her collar unbuttoned and wore no police-exclusive hat. A scar, now darkened, marked her sun-kissed cheek, giving her a rugged appearance.
“Hello, what can I do for you?”
“Let me introduce myself. I’m Leola, Second-Level Inspector of the Saint Nary General Police Department.” As she spoke, Fischer, coming down the stairs, noticed the four-winged griffin badge pinned to her chest, indicating a high police rank. “We have encountered difficulties in a case we are investigating, specifically involving magic, and we need to temporarily hire you to assist us with the investigation.”
She pulled out a thick envelope from her pocket, preparing to hand it to Fischer. This was the expert assistance fee from the Nary police, usually about ten thousand Nary Euros, but judging by the thickness, this envelope was closer to twenty thousand.
Fischer didn’t take it and instead frowned.
“Why not ask other members of the Magic Association? I remember a few of them have been long-term collaborators with the Nary police.”
“We already consulted two experts from the Magic Association, but they had no clue about the case. They said Mr. Fischer Benavides might have some insight.” Leola didn’t retract the envelope but placed it on the table and added, “They said it’s related to the demi-humans.”
Demi-humans? And magic-related?
Fischer’s interest instantly piqued. Could there really have been a magical attack involving demi-humans in Saint Nary, and even members of the Magic Association were unaware of it? Could it be some ancient magic?
After some thought, since he had no other tasks besides preparing his speech draft today, Fischer agreed. He didn’t even eat lunch and set off with the inspectors. There was no carriage at the rental’s entrance, so the crime scene couldn’t be far. They walked on foot.
As they walked, Leola said beside him, “Mr. Fischer, are you aware of the case that happened a few days ago on Karen Street?”
“Yes. It was loud enough to shut down the tram station. I had to call a carriage to come back that day.”
Leola nodded and took out a case report from her pocket, handing it to Fischer.
“At Apartment No. 3 on Karen Street, on the second floor, a conflict erupted at midnight last Friday. The deceased is Shuji, male, 34 years old. Cause of death was excessive blood loss. He resisted before dying, with traces of gunfire and magic released; the perpetrator remains unknown. At the scene, there was a strange ‘Echo’ fluctuation left behind.”
Fischer looked over the case file and soon arrived at the scene on Karen Street.
Apartment No. 3 faced the street directly. The window of an upstairs room was completely shattered, exposing the ceiling inside. Outside, a section of tram rail was twisted and deformed like a pretzel—clearly caused by gravity magic. Many workers from the transportation bureau were dismantling and repairing the damaged rail section.
The entrance to Apartment No. 3 was sealed off by police, while residents above protested the Nary police's disruption of their lives. Led by Leola, Fischer quickly reached the second-floor crime scene, where the door was open, revealing a very messy room inside.
On the sofa facing the balcony lay a large pool of thick blood, dried completely after several days. The body had been taken by the police, but no other items had been touched.
“The victim was unemployed but, according to police intelligence, had long engaged in underground intelligence work in Nary, acting as a middleman and information seller for various gangs and foreign forces... Mr. Fischer, the traces of Echo are over here.”
After magic is released, the place where the magic emblem pries the world’s echo leaves very obvious marks. These traces are invisible to the naked eye and require special magic or instruments to see. They generally last about half a month; some high-level magic can persist for months, indicating that the magic greatly disturbed the world’s rules.
Several places on the floor had three metal rods emitting magical light stuck into them. These devices were called Echo Detectors, instruments used by police to confirm magical crimes. Under their glowing illumination, the world’s echo became visible.
Many of these echoes were left by the victim’s magical resistance. The Magic Association scholars had already identified them all except for one spot near the windowsill. Fischer squatted down and looked at the spatial-folding-like ripples displayed between the three rods. Within those ripples faint purple light appeared, with a subtle hint of white inside the purple.
Fischer examined the magic carefully, then suddenly said, “Fourth-ring magic, Glorious Blade...”
“Glorious Blade? Impossible. The echo of this magic is very different from Glorious Blade’s echo, and its effect is not as strong as Glorious Blade should be. The two Magic Association experts unanimously believe this magic should be at least sixth ring or higher.”
Leola turned and looked at the crack running from the floor straight up to the ceiling in the room and said this to Fischer.
Fischer sighed, then pulled out the rods from the floor. Under the watchful eyes of several police officers, he moved the rods upward and discovered the echo extended all the way to the edge of the windowsill.
“The two experts are partly right and partly wrong. At least their theoretical knowledge is sound. They understand that different species release magic that leaves different traces due to differing magic circuits, and they recognized that the engraver of this magic differs somewhat from humans.”
“You mean this magic was really engraved by a demi-human?”
“No, it was engraved by a human. Glorious Blade uses a medieval version. Logically, its power should be weaker than the modern improved version, but the caster’s magical power compensated for this. If the caster had used the modern Glorious Blade, those two experts would likely estimate seventh ring or higher.”
Fischer put down the detector and concluded, “The culprit is from the Witch Research Society.”
“The Witch Research Society? That cult organization? But Nary has previously investigated Witch Research Society cases, and none involved magic like this.”
“That’s because those people weren’t skilled enough before. This time’s person isn’t simple. It should be a ‘Manufactured Witch’...”
Unlike modern magic, medieval magic has a very short shelf life. Generally, magic that can still function well shouldn’t be engraved for more than four days, so the engraver must have come to Nary in person.
“Manufactured Witch?”
Others didn’t know the Witch Research Society’s background, but Fischer, who had searched for the Undying Witch for a long time, certainly did.
This organization was notorious in Nary and Schwalli for trafficking humans under the guise of hunting witches. Suspects were often young women, with frequent kidnapping cases in rural and suburban areas, though these were small-scale by local branches.
Having been to Cardo, Fischer had heard rumors that they were cultivating a product called ‘Manufactured Witch.’ They believed witches were emissaries of the Mother Goddess and hoped to approach the Mother Goddess by assimilating humans into witches to hear her teachings. But that was just a rumor; whether they succeeded was unknown.
The magic characteristics perfectly matched the Witch Research Society’s traits. They favored using medieval magic similar to the magical fluctuations of witches. If Fischer hadn’t personally witnessed the power of a witch’s magic, he might have been fooled by the counterfeit before him.
“This is a project the Witch Research Society is studying. They attempt to convert humans into witches to communicate with the Mother Goddess. If this case relates to the Witch Research Society, you can investigate some of the intelligence the deceased was handling.”
Fischer stood and looked around. It seemed this was the only magic released by an intruder. The tram rail outside was damaged by gravity magic released by the victim, indicating that after being hit by the Glorious Blade, he still resisted for some time. So, could he have left some evidence?
“Inspector Leola! Inspector Leola! The forensic department has news!”
While Fischer was thinking, a breathless police officer hurried upstairs, holding a still-warm black-and-white photograph that seemed to be forensic results.
“What happened?”
“The forensic department found a piece of cloth in the victim’s stomach with some writing. They asked me to bring it back to you.”
Leola took the photo and furrowed her brow deeply, then glanced at Fischer, who was examining the bloodstained sofa with a complicated expression.
“Mr. Fischer, your deduction might be correct. Please take a look.”
Fischer took the black-and-white photo. In the center was a piece of cloth stretched flat, with text blurred and distorted by soaking. It read,
“The Undying Witch has escaped from the Research Society.”