Infinite Mage [Remake]-Chapter 184: Claire Marsha (Part 3)

Lucas: "...What do you want to hear?"

Sakiri: "Everything else is done. Claire Marsha. If you know anything about her, spill it all."

The Arcane incident had been concluded as a closed case, but the involvement of the Parrot Mercenary Group was tied to international relations with Tormia.

This was because the group's leader was an A-class criminal, and a political one at that.

'A cunning woman.'

The biggest problem was that the intelligence coming through the Red Line was all over the place.

Some documents called her a flame mage, while others said she primarily used ice magic.

From that perspective, she was incredibly meticulous and thorough.

Even with maximum intelligence-gathering efforts, her movements couldn't be clearly tracked.

That was exactly why Sakiri had summoned Lucas.

He had realized from the start that his strategy was flawed.

'Marsha's location isn't important. What I need to figure out isn't her whereabouts....'

It was Marsha herself.

Sakiri: "Anything is fine. If you tell me everything you know, I'll send you back to prison nicely."

Lucas didn't open his mouth immediately. His mind was racing.

'He's really struggling. Well, she's not an ordinary opponent....'

She wasn't a great mage like Arcane, but the world doesn't run on strength alone.

Marsha's true terror lay in her inhuman actions, which defied all common sense.

'Telling the truth would make things easier for now, but....'

Lucas, who had joined the Parrot Mercenary Group after its downfall, had no particular loyalty.

The problem was that if he confessed here, he'd have to rot in an underground prison for the rest of his life.

Lucas: "How about a deal?"

Sakiri: "A deal?"

Lucas: "I'll tell you everything about Marsha. In exchange, reduce my sentence. If you let me out before I die, I'll give you the information you want."

"Hoho..."

Sakiri, who had been staring at Lucas with a dumbfounded expression, burst into laughter.

Sakiri: "Hahahaha!"

The desk toppled over with a crash. Sakiri, now standing up, approached with a furious expression.

Sakiri: "You crazy bastard! Do you know where you are?"

He kicked Lucas, sending him and the chair tumbling backward.

Still not satisfied, Sakiri began stomping on the fallen body.

"Ugh! Ugh!"

This time, even Lucas was desperate.

If the deal failed, his life was as good as over.

Lucas: "Hit me all you want! I'm not going to talk! That's why I'm proposing a deal!"

Sakiri's foot stopped mid-air.

Why are criminals always so shameless? If they hate going to prison so much, they should've just followed the law in the first place.

Sakiri: "I'm really going crazy."

Sakiri exhaled and turned away.

Even in his terrified state, Lucas observed him.

The fact that Sakiri had stopped kicking meant he was conflicted. If he held out a little longer, a window for negotiation might open.

But contrary to his expectations, Sakiri opened the investigation room door and issued a terrifying order.

Sakiri: "Hey, disable the magic restriction device here."

Unlike anti-magic, magic restriction devices were designed to prevent the activation of magic altogether.

Of course, it was also a form of magical engineering, but there weren't many thieves in the world capable of breaking circuits designed by first-class grand mages.

Lucas gulped.

'Is he really going all out?'

He couldn't afford to be afraid.

This was Sakiri's last resort. If he could just get through this, he might be able to reduce his sentence and return to the world before he died.

As he steadied his breathing with that thought, a low hum filled the air.

Lucas couldn't tell what had changed, but Sakiri approached with a lighter step, tilting his head.

Sakiri: "Tell me everything you know about Marsha. If you remain silent or lie, you will experience unbearable terror."

Lucas: "I, I won't talk. I'll never talk."

Lucas's eyes widened, but Sakiri paid no attention and simply extended his hand.

Then, closing his eyes, he recited what sounded like an incantation.

Sakiri: "As the one who judges, I command thee, the tongue answers the tongue. The scales of truth belong only to you."

Lucas: "Wh-what? What are you saying?"

For now, nothing has happened.

But as Lucas realized something, his face turned pale as a corpse.

Lucas: "Y-you...?"

He had misjudged Sakiri as just another investigator. Sakiri was someone criminals should never have crossed.

Lucas: "Damn it all!"

Ten minutes later.

"Aaaaaah!"

A scream loud enough to shatter one's mind echoed through the investigation room.

"Aaaah! Aaaah!"

Lucas was almost out of his mind.

Even when he had undergone leg amputation surgery, it hadn't been this painful. A torment on a completely different level was being inflicted on his entire body.

Lucas: "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything, so please stop this!"

At that moment, the pain disappeared as if it had been a lie.

"Haa! Haa!"

When he came to his senses, he realized he was crumpled in a corner of the investigation room.

His spirit was already broken, and even the sound of Sakiri's approaching footsteps made him flinch.

Sakiri: "It's your choice. If you want to make it easier, just spill everything."

Lucas gave up.

He'd rather die than endure that pain again.

'No, prison would be heaven.'

Silence and lies were not tolerated.

In front of Sakiri's magic, 'Scales of Truth,' any criminal had no choice but to confess.

Lucas: "...Marsha is clever. And she doesn't make mistakes. She pretends to be on the defensive to expose all of her opponent's weaknesses. That's when her attack begins."

Sakiri: "A typical con artist's tactic."

Lucas: "Heh, a con artist? No, she's not a con artist. Do you know why she's terrifying? It's not because she lies to deceive someone. Do you get what I'm saying? Her entire life is a lie. You won't be able to catch her with ordinary methods."

Sakiri: "Hmm, I think I get the gist. But do you really think she can fool the Association with just that?"

Lucas: "It's not a gist. It's the truth."

Sakiri: "The truth, huh."

Could someone's entire life be a lie?

At that moment, Sakiri found the closest hint and turned his head.

Sakiri: "Don't tell me that woman..."

Lucas: "Yes. She's the same kind of person as you."

Thinking he no longer had to suffer, Lucas weakly spat out the words.

"Marsha is an Irregular."

Shirone desperately racked her brain to figure out Marsha's intentions.

But she couldn't.

The feeling she got from Marsha was completely different from anyone she had ever met before.

Marsha: "You can kill me if you want."

Shirone: "Really? You hate me, don't you? So, you can kill me as much as you want."

Shirone gave up trying to analyze the situation.

If she couldn't understand it, she would simply stick to her original purpose.

Shirone: "If Yuna is safe, there's no reason to fight."

Marsha: "Hehe."

Marsha smiled coldly and aimed her offensive Spirit Zone at Shirone.

Shirone: "Ugh!"

Shirone hurriedly teleported to avoid the attack.

But before she could even move halfway, the Spirit Zone was dispelled, and her magic was forcibly canceled.

Shirone: "What the...?"

Just as she managed to regain her balance and lift her head, a sonic cannon shot past her.

Her eardrums felt like they were burning, and Shirone, unable to withstand the shock, rolled on the ground.

Tess: "Ahhh!"

Tess shouted in surprise.

Tess: "What's going on? Why is she suddenly like this?"

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

The sonic cannon, which compressed sound waves to fire, didn't spread its noise, so to Tess, it was just a loud, high-pitched sound.

Amy: "That's a sonic cannon. It's a sound-based magic. But that's not the real problem."

Tess: "Right. Shirone got hit."

Tess agreed, but that wasn't what Amy was trying to say.

'Just a moment ago...'

If Shirone had teleported normally, it would have been within the 10-meter range.

But according to Amy's analysis, Shirone's teleportation didn't even reach 5 meters before it was dispelled.

Amy: "She wasn't just hit. She was robbed."

Tess: "Robbed? Of what?"

There was a moment only Amy, as a mage, could confirm.

Marsha's Spirit Zone had absorbed Shirone's Spirit Zone like dew being sucked into the ground.

Amy: "It's... something like mental energy, I guess?"

Tess: "Mental energy? You can steal someone else's mental energy? I've never heard of such magic."

Amy: "It exists."

Even Amy, a model student, only remembered it now because it was such an anomalous existence in the magical society.

'Idiot! Why didn't I realize it sooner?'

Class-A criminal Claire Marsha.

As expected, this woman was an extremely dangerous individual.

Amy: "Shirone! Be careful! That woman is an Irregular!"

Shirone's head snapped up.

Her ears were damp, as if blood was flowing from them after being hit by the sonic cannon, but her indomitable mental energy was still intact.

Shirone: "So this is what an Irregular is?"

Marsha approached with a bright smile.

Marsha: "Oh my, you know about Irregulars? Magic schools are impressive. It's true what they say about the importance of education."

Mages around the world develop countless spells every day and register them as standard magic.

But there are spells in the world that can never be registered, and those are the Irregular spells.

Of course, Unlocker's magic is also impossible to imitate, but at least it can be explained theoretically.

On the other hand, the magic of Irregulars is a matter of absolute truth—magic built on false truths from the beginning.

A thought born not from fact, but from an individual's obsession, manifested as magic.

And then, imposing their own rules on others.

'Irregular.'

Shirone recalled Shiina's explanation.

Shiina: "Omnipotence is the unique mental function of a mage that manifests absolute truth. In the Taoist realm, it's called enlightenment; in the religious realm, it's called faith. The reason light with absolute speed is classified into four stages in magic, why flame magic's temperature changes regardless of fuel, and why plasma can be created even at moderate temperatures is because a mage's omnipotence supports absolute truth. It's a method of perfectly understanding theory and filling in the impossible parts with omnipotence."

Shiina wrote the word "Irregular" on the board.

The unfamiliar term caused a stir among the students, but she continued her explanation without concern.

Shiina: "But some mages use omnipotence for personal gain. That is, instead of supporting absolute truth, they distort absolute truth itself. The magic they use is called Irregular magic."

Student: "Teacher, I don't really understand."

Shiina: "Let me explain. Everyone, what's my job?"

Students: "Of course, you're a teacher."

Shiina: "Right. I'm a teacher. So, let's begin. Is there anyone here who doesn't think I'm a teacher? If so, raise your hand."

No one raised their hand.

It was a contradiction to deny the fact that she was a teacher while knowing it.

Shiina: "This is the nature of the mind. Unlike the body, the mind doesn't push away new concepts. Instead, it absorbs them to form a new mass."

Shiina raised her index finger.

Shiina: "Therefore, the mind can be shared. My thoughts can be applied to others, and the form of thought that makes us up is actually a combination of countless thoughts from others. Now, let me demonstrate an Irregular."

She stepped down from the podium, made eye contact with each student, and then declared:

Shiina: "Anyone who thinks of me as a teacher will die."