Magic Life in the Empire-Chapter 98: Here Again

Finally Cyril couldn't handle it anymore and dissipated the image of the fox.

The mini Cyril suddenly had no support behind his back and fell on the table, his expression panicked and confused.

Rose and Myra to the sides had quite the laughing fit over this. Rhamn had too, of course, though she stayed mindfully out of sight.

Ammy cheerfully observed their reaction and imitated their laughter, making a very convincing human voice.

Cyril could only sigh and keep a straight face. At least they were having fun; that was the idea behind this trip in the first place.

...

Eventually the group paid their bill and left the cafe. The owners and some of the other customers waved them a goodbye, telling them to come again.

Myra was hugging Ammy close to her chest, walking cheerfully with the others.

Her face is now much more relaxed than before.

"Well, what do you say? Do you want to keep it?" Cyril asked her when the time was right.

Myra's happy face froze, and she contemplated for a few seconds.

"Can you really not take it in yourself?" She cautiously said.

Before Cyril even replied, Tigris on his shoulder started shaking his head energetically. Morpho, too, fluttered her wings in protest.

"Okay..." Myra quickly understood what answer she would get.

"You should do that; you seemed really happy carrying it around today," added Rose with a nod.

She too noticed her friend's sour mood recently, and seeing her finally relax was good.

Myra held out the fox in front of it and stared it in the eyes.

Ammy's eyes had pure innocence in them.

After a short staring contest, Myra lost completely.

"You are right. I'll take it," she finally sighed, relieved.

The other two students nodded with satisfaction that their plan worked.

It was a pity they didn't find any actual magic creatures that escaped the zoo, but this wasn't a bad conclusion to today.

"Bring Ammy out to play occasionally; I'll practice illusion magic with it," Cyril briefly proposed.

They went back towards Ailanthus in a good mood.

...

By the time they reached the academy, it was already getting dark outside. They spent most of the day having fun, and now it was time to separate.

"Be careful with Ammy; it's cute but still a magic creature in the end," Cyril warned just in case. Though he had full trust that his friend would not get careless.

"Don't worry about that. I know spirit foxes quite well." Myra hugged Ammy tighter and smiled.

The two girls said their goodbyes and went in the same direction, while Cyril headed for his own dormitory.

Passing by the park, he stopped in contemplation, remembering Edmund.

You think he will train here again?

"If he were to be cautious, he would change his spot, but who knows?" responded Rhamn. "We could visit the park anyways. It's quite beautiful under the moon."

Finding some sense in her words, Cyril stepped into the gates, going for the secluded place from before.

Morpho on his shoulder was about to fly up to see if anyone was nearby, but Cyril stopped her.

He suddenly began hearing another hitting sound. This time it was more similar to something hitting flesh.

"Did he start training on his fellow students!? How monstrous!" Jokingly said Rhamn.

Cyril, a bit more cautious, started sneaking towards the source of the noise.

He was quite close already, but aside from the initial hit, no more sound was heard, which was a bit unusual given his hearing.

An explanation would be a silencing spell being placed there.

And such a possibility only raised Cyril's curiosity.

He lowered Tigris to the ground and told him to hide in the shadows.

He rarely used this ability—or any, for that matter—since there was no real need. But invisibility proved quite useful.

Morpho already prepared on her own, ready to fly out as a cannonball at a perfect opportunity.

As Cyril arrived at a place obscured by trees from all sides, he encountered an unusual scene.

Some man wearing a black uniform disguise was beating a student on the ground, making all kinds of threatening faces.

"Don't even bother screaming! I've placed spells that isolated us from the outside world." The man growled with a voice that was convinced of its control.

"What a moron."

One couldn't make out how the voice actually sounded; it was obscured by a kind of spell.

"Tell me where the stone is!" The man crouched over the trembling body.

The poor student only kept repeating 'forgive me' and 'I don't know anything,' which only further irritated the man.

He seemed to be convinced that the student had something he needed.

"It's Lapis, isn't it?" Rhamn guessed from their one-sided conversation.

Looks like it.

They finally began looking for the Black Tulip in earnest. This was probably another student who simply donned a black disguise.

Lapis was known to be popular among the youth.

Without waiting for the student on the ground to get harassed further, Cyril came out of hiding.

The man was startled and quickly cast a spell, throwing an orb of lightning at Cyril.

Cyril only had to utilize the Heavenly Dragon's Judgement, and he effortlessly destroyed the spell with his backhand.

"Cyril!?" Screamed the man in horror.

It was basically confirmed that this was a student. Only someone from Ailanthus would be so frightened by a young man accompanied by two cute animals.

Speaking of which, one of them, Morpho, immediately shot forward before the man could react, striking him squarely in the chest.

The man dropped to the ground, and an ever-so-familiar pain began eating away at his insides. Being attacked like this without a barrier turned out to be even more painful.

Though thanks to Morpho's heightened control over the technique, he didn't suffer for long; only his legs and arms stopped moving the way he wished.

The man in black only continued staring in horror at Cyril, with additional frustration soon mixing in.

Such a sight appeared familiar to Cyril.

He casually approached the fallen man and grabbed his mask.

The man attempted to struggle, but it was of no use.

In a single pull the mask was taken off, revealing a student of Ailanthus, as expected.

It was even someone familiar, which added to Rhamn's enjoyment nearby.

She even did a dramatic gasp once the face was revealed.

It was Albert, the particularly angry person, who incited a mob against Cyril back in the test.

Though that was originally planned by Margaret.

"Fucking damn it! Why are you here?" Albert yelled through gritted teeth.

Cyril only stared with amusement in response.

The beaten student earlier got up from the ground, taking a look at his assailant.

"Albert!? Why are you...!"? The student gasped while holding his stomach.

His face was tinged with betrayal, as if seeing one's parents go against him.

Do you know him? Asked Cyril out of curiosity.

"It's Monty, from Albert's class. Has a reputation as a reclusive loser." Briefly explained Rhamn.

Rhamn loved to remember random gossip going around the academy, particularly if it was something she would call 'juicy.'

"Is there a story between you two?" Calmly asked Cyril.

Monty stared at Cyril somewhat cautiously. "Eh, thanks for saving me..." He bowed.

Then he pointed towards Albert. "He approached me earlier today asking me about any new additions in my unusual rocks collection." He whined like a schoolboy complaining to a teacher.

"I was very excited about that! I told him about this new cool black stone I found. I thought I found a friend!" Tears almost came out of his eyes.

"Ooh, what a poor 18-year-old baby!" Rhamn mocked the student with disgust on her face.

Cyril did not think of him so harshly. "Alright, I got the gist of it," he said to stop the story from going further.

"Could you show me that black rock later?" He added.

Monty, with some effort, wiped his eyes and nodded.

"You don't know what you are getting into, Felling!" Albert yelled on the ground.

Despite his current state, on his face was a certain gloating expression. He was staring at Cyril as if at a dead man.

"What a clueless idiot!"