NOVEL WEB Chapter 214: Anima(Part 13)
"Hm...I've never seen Spells formulated like this, it's so creative and complex. I can understand how it works, but I'd need to go through several more samples before I can replicate it, it's such a unique method," Remarked Tacitus, as he analyzed the Spell Cards.
A couple of hours had passed since the battles in the hotel had ended. After the assailants were defeated, the APF rushed onto the scene and moved the group from Persona and Sylph to a different hotel.
Several members of the APF were patrolling the area outside the new hotel, and the three Adventurers were posted in the corridor of the floor that the group's rooms were on.
The group had also been provided with lavish amenities as an apology for what they went through, but the atmosphere was pretty somber, since they'd lost one of their members in the attack.
The explosion had killed Lloyd, his body left severely mangled and almost completely unrecognizable. While the others had survived and a few had even managed to capture some of the assailants, the fact that they'd failed to come out of it without any casualties was prevalent.
"This is the one that triggered the explosion. It's fairly simple, but extremely powerful. It's basically a suicide bomb, it absorbs the user's Mana and life force, using that energy to trigger a devastating explosion. And this barrier Spell is definitely the most complex and advanced of all these Spells, it's unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's highly efficient, it can sustain itself for well over a day without a problem, it absorbs Mana from the surrounding air to fuel itself, which is extremely difficult to pull off.
And it's effectively unbreakable, the way it transfers force and impact through it instead of dispersing like most other barriers do means it'd take an unimaginable amount of force to break through it. Even by Elven standards, this is on a whole other level, it's terrifyingly advanced, it even has a function to block regular nullification Spells, fortunately that wasn't enough to block my Nullification Magic. It also comes with a separate Spell just to deactivate it, it's the closest thing I've ever seen to a flawless barrier," Mused Tacitus, as he went through the lines of Spell formulation carefully.
"It's definitely the most durable barrier I've ever come across. Even with my full strength, I couldn't so much as scratch it," Recalled Raven warily.
"Yeah, I couldn't phase through it either. Whoever made it shouldn't have had any way of knowing how my Magic works, but despite that, the barrier stopped me from passing through it," Spoke up Akila with a grimace.
"It also blocked teleportation, we couldn't teleport through it," Chimed in Aster.
"Which means, your Nullification Magic is the only thing that can counter this barrier. With that in mind, we're going to need you to stay here with us," Stated Jules, as Tacitus let out a quiet sigh.
"Yeah, I figured you'd say that. Fine, I guess I don't have much of a choice. But, there might be another way to get through the barrier," Responded Tacitus, before adding as he glanced at Aster, "Your black blade, its ability to consume Mana should be able to at least temporarily create an opening in the barrier."
"Huh...yeah, now that you mention it, that could work," Nodded Aster, averting his gaze sheepishly as everyone turned to stare at him.
"H-How did you not think of th-...?" Began Jules incredulously.
"I...I'm sorry, it just completely slipped my mind."
"To be fair, you rarely ever use your blades anymore. With how powerful your Magic is, you rarely have any reason to fight someone using your blades, so it is understandable that you'd overlook them," Chimed in Raven.
"Perhaps, but it's not a valid excuse," Muttered Jules with a grimace.
"There is no point in dwelling on it, it won't change what's already been done. More importantly, we can safely say that these forces targeting us are a serious threat. Even if their individual members are not that dangerous on their own, whoever is formulating their Spells is a significant concern. We cannot afford to take them lightly," Spoke up Wistari warily.
"Definitely, we'll have to make sure we're better prepared for their next attack, we can't afford any mistakes," Nodded Aster in response.
"Let's hope the interrogation goes well. It should be starting any minute now," Remarked Jules, as she glanced at the time.
Upon her request, the APF had agreed to let Jules observe the interrogation and ask some questions of her own, they'd told her that they would come get her before the interrogation began.
Almost right on cue, someone knocked on the door a few minutes later. Aster opened the door as Raven confirmed that the scent belonged to a member of the APF.
"The interrogation is set to begin soon. I was sent to escort you, Miss Jules," The policeman greeted her.
"Yes, thank you, I appreciate it. I'll be back in a bit, everyone. Keep your guards up. Tacitus, continue analyzing the Spells, see if you can determine anything else useful," She instructed, before stepping out of the room as the APF member led the way.
She followed him out of the hotel, before getting in a car to be driven to the police station, where the captives were being held for interrogation. A couple of other vehicles drove alongside the car, to serve as extra protection.
As they arrived at the station, Jules was led into the building, before being taken into the basement, a corridor with several rooms coming into sight as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
The policeman escorting her led her through the corridor, before coming to a stop in front of one of the doors, opening it. Jules stepped in, the policeman shutting the door behind her.
It was a large room, with a wide desk at the back, the captives handcuffed to it, with Mana-blocking collars around their necks. A couple of other members of the APF were also in the room, glancing back as Jules and her escort entered.
"Alright, looks like we can begin now. We'll get straight to the point. You're all going to tell us everything you know," One of the police stated.
"W-We can't!"
"Yeah, we can't tell you anything, we just can't!"
"Tch, and even if we could, we won't. We aren't going to betray our comrades!"
"Hm? Can't? What does that mean?" Frowned Jules in confusion.
"Seems they aren't going to cooperate. Well, we expected as much. Use it," Remarked one of the APF members, before one of the others took out a Spell Card and approached one of the captives.
"That must the Spell they used on Akila," Mused Jules, as the APF member began to activate the Spell.
"N-No, wait...please, don't do it! I-I...I'll die!" He cried in terror, right as the Spell was activated.
"Alright, let's try this again, shall we? Tell us everything-...," The APF member began, before trailing off in terror as blood suddenly gushed out of the captive's mouth, his head thudding against the table as his body went limp.
"Huh?" Blurted out Jules in disbelief.
"What...what just happened?"
"Did we use the right Spell?"
"I-I don't know, but we definitely don't have a Spell that can do this. He's dead."
"L-Listen, we've all been cast with a Spell that prevents us from betraying our allies! If that truth Spell is used on us or an Enslavement Collar is placed on us, the Spell triggers and makes our hearts explode! It's also triggered if we reveal any details about our allies, like their identities and the locations of our hideouts!" One of the remaining captives explained frantically.
"Y-You damned coward, don't tell them that!"
"Shit, this isn't good. What are we supposed to do if we can't interrogate them? Without the truth Spell, we have no way to confirm whether anything they say is true. This effect sounds like an enchantment...but enchantments aren't supposed to last all that long," Frowned one of the APF members uncertainly.
"Yeah, that's true. But we can't just use the truth Spell on them after what just happened. We already know that we're dealing with a highly advanced Spell formulator, so we can't rule anything out."
"Hm...so, wait, this means if we can nullify the effect that's preventing them from answering our questions, the problem will be resolved, doesn't it?" Chimed in Jules.
"Well, yes, that's true. But that's easier said that done. We can try, but an ordinary nullification or negation Spell seems unlikely to work on such an advanced enchantment."
"Oh, there's no need to worry about that. I mean, I suppose there's no guarantee that it'll work, but we just might have a way to get around this. I'm going to need to get back to the hotel and bring one of my subordinates in," Remarked Jules, feeling hopeful.