After the Necromancer breathed his last, Vale took a moment to catch his breath, his gaze steady as he surveyed the aftermath of the battle.
He could no longer see Celina, but he didn't care about her for now. In any case, he would still see her in the Academy or elsewhere.
As he checked the notification once again, Vale couldn't help but smile as he saw the three Spell Models he had just extracted.
It must've been painful for the guy since he didn't control the extraction to weaken the pain he'd receive from having his Spell Model sucked out.
'Let's see…' Vale mused as he considered which of his current Spell Models would be replaced by the three new ones.
Without a doubt, he wanted all of the three new Spells, but he didn't have the Spell Light needed.
He only had 1 Vacant Spell Light and 3 Incomplete Spell Lights, so he needed one more to get a second Spell Light.
However, he didn't like the idea of having no Vacant Spell Light, so he decided to remove three undeserving Spell Lights from his collection.
The Corpse Explosion was a decent Spell since this was probably the safest way to destroy evidence. Furthermore, there wouldn't be a need to use an Incinerator or Sealing Technique to ensure that no Evil Spirit could possess the corpses that he might encounter someday.
The Feign Death Spell, on the other hand, was a better version of the Dead Heart Spell, so there was no doubt that Vale would save this Spell.
As for the Locate Corpse Spell, this was something that he really wanted as it might get easier for him to find corpses outside the Academy.
'Hmm… This is quite tough.' Vale silently thought as he decided to accept the Spells.
He removed his Cursed Breath for the Corpse Explosion, the Dead Heart for the Feign Death, and the Darkness Coil for the Locate Corpse…
He wasn't using the Cursed Breath, and the Darkness Coil wasn't that effective since he already had Dusk Imprisonment.
Then, he double-checked if there were still criminals on board that he hadn't extracted yet. He used his Ghost Hands to check them individually, and after less than five minutes, he felt satisfied and checked his current Attributes.
[ Name: Kyle Marshall ]
[ Attributes: Strength 82.55, Agility 79.95, Intelligence 100, Vitality 78.80 ]
[ Dark Arts: Spell Dispersion Lv7, Ghost Hand Lv7, Incorruptible Body Lv9, Darkness Manipulation Lv7, Spirit Vision Lv6, Light Absorption Lv7, Create Shadow Soldier Lv7, Moonlight Curse Lv7, Spectral Hands Lv4, Corrupted Chains Lv4, Active Curse Break Lv4, Dusk Imprisonment Lv4, Corpse Explosion Lv0, Feign Death Lv0, Locate Corpse Lv0]
[ Holy Arts: Divine Sense Lv7, Blessed Healing Lv4 ]
[ Celestial Arts: Call of the Divine Lightning Lv7, Shadow Mutilation Lv7 ]
[ Summoning Art: Grimoire Attraction Lv6 ]
[ Transformation Art: Human Shapeshift Lv7, Beast Shapeshift Lv7, Voice Manipulation Lv7 ]
[ Martial Art: Meridian Access Lv7 ]
[ Mystic Arts: Arcane Armor Lv6, Soul Bind Lv2 ]
[ Neutral Ability: Extrasensory Perception Spell Lv7, Traceless Shift Lv7, Lightspeed Lv7 ]
[ Available Energy: 8,390]
[ Divinity Points: 1982.3 ]
"Hmm… Now that I think about it, I didn't get any Memory Fragments from these guys. Is it because they're not in the Dark Soul Tower?" Vale muttered as he felt that it was such a waste.
If he could get their Memory Fragments, he could easily accuse Celina of being the mastermind of this attack. After all, those memories would leave him some clues about any physical evidence they've left behind.
In the end, he could only bring these people to the Faction for autopsy or any investigation to find out which organization they came from.
***
After the airship landed in the nearby town, a squad of the Order of the Evanescent Vessels awaited Vale and others.
The Vessels listened attentively as Vale and Vice Captain Gene recounted the harrowing ambush they had faced.
Furthermore, they confirmed that it wasn't just Celina who went missing but also the Captain of the Airship!
As Vale had previously thought, the Captain was part of this.
The Vessels could only promise to conduct an investigation and assured Vale they would leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of justice.
They assured him they would look for Celina and save her from her kidnappers.
'Seriously?' Vale couldn't help but shake his head as they concluded that Celina was a victim of this crime. Anyway, he couldn't really say otherwise since Celina was still part of the Vermont Family. He couldn't just pin the crime on her, or he might be the one to suffer.
Vale didn't want to stay here any further, so he decided to just board another airship heading back to the Academy.
***
Returning to the Academy, Vale wasted no time in seeking out the Headmaster. He felt a sense of urgency in relaying the events that had transpired on the airship.
While traveling back, he had a bad feeling that Celina wouldn't stop just yet. That problematic girl really wanted him to be her Personal Shadow Knight!
'She might even be starting a ritual to curse me… I need to hurry.' Vale thought.
Although he had an Active Curse Break, Incorruptible Body, and Spell Dispersion, he still felt the need of informing the Headmaster just in case.
With a determined gaze, he recounted the battle, the defeat of the Necromancer, and Celina's disappearance while he was in combat.
Headmaster Jean listened attentively, his expression grave with concern. According to the description Vale had given, the person he had killed might be the Silver Class Necromancer of the Vermont Family, Bone Fletcher.
Jean sighed at this as he realized that this matter might actually be serious.
Nevertheless, he still assured Vale that he would personally oversee the investigation and consult with the Vermont Family regarding the matter.
"For now, Vale, I must insist that you remain within the Academy grounds while I finish my investigation." Headmaster Jean said firmly.
Vale nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation.
Days turned into weeks as the investigation unfolded.
Vale could tell that there was already a result in the investigation, but it seemed that the result wasn't planned to be reported back to him.
It was only after a month before Headmaster Jean decided to disclose the result of their investigation to him.
