Power Struggles

Awaki Musujime's mind raced through calculations. Within 0.6 seconds, the computations were completed, and Stiyl Magnus vanished from his original position. When he reappeared, he was only two meters away from Su Xiao!

For Stiyl, this level of coordination was a nightmare. Previously, the "Witch Hunt King" stood between him and Su Xiao, along with numerous magical traps he had set up in his former position. For Su Xiao, closing the distance with him was not simple.

However, an unguarded Stiyl found himself under Su Xiao's blade, with the long sword mere centimeters from his throat.

As the blade sliced through the air, a pale blue streak of energy trailed behind it.

Splat!

Blood spurted three meters high as Stiyl's head flew, his face frozen in disbelief. Neither the "Witch Hunt King" nor his numerous magical traps had served any purpose.

In a confrontation, Stiyl, though not Su Xiao's equal, could have held his own for several rounds. Given Su Xiao's current injured state, killing Stiyl would have required some effort. However, Stiyl's lack of understanding of Awaki Musujime's spatial abilities led to his demise under Su Xiao's blade. For Stiyl, his death was inexplicable.

In reality, Su Xiao and Awaki Musujime had practiced their coordination multiple times, determining the strikes' distances, positions, timing, and trajectories. Their training and planning culminated in this lethal effectiveness.

In the battle, Su Xiao only needed one strike to decapitate this genius magician from the British Puritan Church's special unit, Necessarius.

[You have killed Stiyl Magnus.]

[Stiyl Magnus was a key member of the British Puritan Church. You have gained 3.2% World Source, bringing your total to 8.8%.]

[Your talent, Devourer, has activated, permanently increasing your mana by 30 points. Your maximum mana is now 3176 points.]

[You have acquired the magician's Rune Card: Dark Purple (Rune Card: Treasure Chest item).]

The rewards for killing Stiyl were not as generous as Su Xiao had anticipated. This wasn't due to Stiyl's lack of strength but because Awaki Musujime played a crucial role in the kill.

Su Xiao had long realized that fighting alongside storyline characters often resulted in reduced rewards. The final gains were calculated based on the target's value minus the contribution and influence of the storyline characters, then factoring in Su Xiao's contribution.

However, these factors did not affect the mana increase from Su Xiao's Devourer talent.

Thud. Stiyl's head hit the ground.

"Stiyl!!" A heart-wrenching cry echoed from the warehouse. This was not a mere shout but a lament.

The "Witch Hunt King," which had been charging toward Su Xiao, halted and rapidly disintegrated. The flames from Stiyl's magic dissipated.

Su Xiao flicked the blood from his sword, forming a semi-circle spray on the ground. He looked toward the warehouse, seeing Kanzaki Kaori kneeling inside, her eyes vacant and filled with tears.

Su Xiao scrutinized Kanzaki, frowning. Awaki Musujime did not immediately use her spatial ability, knowing Kanzaki's prowess in close combat.

"Shall we continue?" Awaki Musujime asked.

"Wait," Su Xiao said, walking into the warehouse. Inside, Kanzaki Kaori, still kneeling, did not look at him. Her sword lay discarded beside her.

Seeing this, Su Xiao felt something was wrong. Even with Stiyl dead, Kanzaki wouldn't be so devastated. From their previous encounter, he knew she was stubborn and strong-willed, not someone who would drop her sword and weep in despair.

"Who are you? Where is Kanzaki Kaori?" Su Xiao's figure blurred as Dragon Flash pressed against her throat. Upon closer inspection, he realized this woman only resembled Kanzaki in appearance and clothing but had a different aura.

"You will die a miserable death..." the imposter hissed, lifting her tear-streaked face.

Narrowing his eyes, Su Xiao understood. His blade slashed across her throat, and a few seconds later, the imposter transformed back into an unfamiliar woman.

[You have killed Sylvia Rockefeller.]

[Sylvia Rockefeller was an ordinary member of the British Puritan Church. You have gained 0.23% World Source...]

The woman was not Kanzaki but a much weaker individual. Her reward yielded minimal World Source and mana points without treasure chest items. Her mental state was too fragile. With Stiyl's death, she completely collapsed, losing her will to fight. Judging by her age, she might have been a passionate admirer of Stiyl, the kind who adored him fervently. However, Su Xiao considered another possibility: she knew she was destined to die today, playing her role of crying and hatred to the end.

Gravely injured Kanzaki was nowhere to be found, making the situation even more perplexing. Su Xiao sat on a wooden crate in the warehouse, lighting a cigarette to contemplate.

After a while, the pieces fell into place.

"That old fox, claiming his mind is controlled by life support devices? Nonsense," Su Xiao muttered. The "old fox" referred to Aleister. In this situation, Aleister was the beneficiary. Su Xiao also gained significantly, laying the groundwork for his Tier 3 advancement task.

He understood the whole situation. Aleister's intention had indeed been to eliminate Kanzaki. However, even if Kanzaki survived, Aleister could accept it if she stopped causing chaos in Academy City.

With Kanzaki severely injured, the British Puritan Church received the news, leading to a second negotiation between Laura Stuart and Aleister. Laura Stuart was a cunning strategist.

Given the circumstances, the negotiations went smoothly. The Index Librorum Prohibitorum would remain under the custody of the Science Side temporarily, a compromise Laura Stuart reluctantly agreed to.

Compared to the Index, protected by multiple safeguards, Kanzaki's life was more important—a tangible combat asset, a "nuclear weapon" level of force for the Magic Side. Losing such a valuable piece in Academy City would have left Laura Stuart in deep despair.

As a result, Aleister allowed the British Puritan Church to forcefully take away the "gravely injured and unconscious" Kanzaki. In return, Stiyl Magnus became the sacrificial lamb, an abandoned pawn.

When Su Xiao saw the imposter Kanzaki kneeling and weeping, he sensed something was off. The crying was too over-the-top, almost fake, and she offered no resistance.

It was clear that Stiyl refused to accept the British Puritan Church's order to retreat, effectively abandoning Index and leaving Academy City. Without the mindset of a defeated soldier, Laura Stuart decisively abandoned him, deploying a magician spy to impersonate Kanzaki. This preserved the Magic Side's strength and gave the Science Side some face, preventing a complete fallout.

The power struggle between factions was indeed ruthless and unfeeling. Those who didn't comply were abandoned. Su Xiao played his role in this grand scheme, inching closer to becoming a "director."

Taking out a communicator, Su Xiao contacted Aleister.

"Aleister, Kanzaki has been dealt with," he said.

"Oh? Wasn't that a magician spy?" Aleister's voice came through.

"In a way, yes, but it was Kanzaki," Su Xiao replied.

In the Windowless Building, Aleister's lips curled into a smile upon hearing this.

"Perhaps. This matter ends here. As long as my core plans aren't disrupted, you have free reign in Academy City. I've informed Tsuchimikado Motoharu. He's ready for your call," Aleister said, ending the call.

Su Xiao exhaled, successfully laying the groundwork for his Tier 3 advancement task.

"That old fox," Su Xiao repeated. Had he not insisted Kanzaki was "dead," Aleister might have assigned him another task, citing failure. The "unconditional assistance in finding the Codex" claim was a bluff. Su Xiao wasn't there to be Aleister's "muscle." He did these tasks for freedom of action and to meet the multi-spy Tsuchimikado Motoharu.

"Time to get down to business," Su Xiao said, heading out of the warehouse, Bubtchub following closely. Awaki Musujime, humming, went in another direction. As always, outside Aleister's assignments, Awaki Musujime wouldn't act with Su Xiao. Expecting storyline characters to submit through mere intimidation was a fantasy, especially a rebellious girl like Awaki Musujime.

As for capturing her heart, Su Xiao would laugh at the idea. A mentally sound, independent girl wouldn't fall for someone after being cramped in a car or a couple of missions. That's the stuff of Shounen manga protagonists. A violent villain like Su Xiao, even after a hundred missions, wouldn't make Awaki Musujime swoon; she'd be more likely to grow wary.