Chapter 261: Remnants of Fanaticism (3)

Lennok immediately recounted how two students from the Department of Necromancy had been expelled on suspicion of performing rituals for the Guido Cult, and that one of them was acquainted with Priscilla.

After hearing everything, Priscilla wore a complicated expression.

“Penia…”

“Our research lab is currently investigating traces of the Guido Cult for a certain reason. Any information you know about a student named Penia would be helpful.”

“…She was my roommate when we were temporarily assigned dormitory rooms after our admission to Rebatenon was confirmed.”

Priscilla said, looking deeply in thought.

“I heard she was from Machine City Machina, but her habits were neat, and she had an easygoing personality, so we became close.”

“I see.”

“But Penia was a follower of the Machine Cult, not Guido… I have no idea why Guido’s name is coming up at all.”

“…”

Lennok fell into thought as well, hearing a story slightly different from what he expected.

Machine Cult.

Unlike the Guido Cult, which worships extraterrestrial monsters as gods, the Machine Cult is an android-affiliated religious group that prioritizes the reason and logic of machines over human values.

As its name suggests, it is strong in Machine City Makina, and its actions, while not comparable to Guido’s, are still quite radical.

“It’s quite common for necromancers to rely on specific faiths.”

Mila interjected with a bored expression from beside them.

“They say it’s because the beings they summon to use their spell formulas feel so overwhelmingly powerful. It doesn’t seem like a rare occurrence.”

“The problem is that both Guido and the Machine Cult are far outside the realm of normal faith.”

The Guido Cult, which venerates extraterrestrial monsters as gods, and the Machine Cult, which reveres the logic and reason of machines.

“The university administration wouldn’t have expelled two people based on mere suspicion, so it’s highly likely they were caught attempting something.”

Lennok said.

“And if it was two cult members who worship different entities working together, it’s highly probable it wasn’t a normal incident at all.”

“…It’s been almost two months since I last heard from Penia.”

Priscilla said with a slightly pained expression.

“I thought she was just busy with coursework and studying for exams, but to think something like this happened…”

So, Priscilla also didn’t know why Penia would have done such a thing.

Lennok nodded lightly and then spoke again.

“Priscilla. Do you know where Penia lives?”

At the very least, they had to find out her residence here.

District 37.

A shabby apartment complex located near the industrial park.

A neighborhood slightly below the average public safety of the megacity, but where no serious violent crimes typically occur.

The fact that Penia lived alone here suggested her financial situation wasn’t entirely difficult.

Priscilla, who had followed Lennok, surveyed her surroundings with a dark expression.

“It was definitely around here… but the streets are so complicated I can’t remember the exact location.”

It’s not easy to perfectly remember a street you’ve only visited once, eight months ago.

Furthermore, these streets were so narrow and convoluted that it seemed easy to get lost.

“Do you remember what floor it was on?”

Priscilla pondered Mila’s question, who had casually tagged along, claiming to be free on her day off.

“It wasn’t very high, I think. Around the 3rd floor…?”

Lennok and Mila exchanged silent glances.

Wasn’t that a rather ambiguous floor height to pinpoint a location?

Did they really have no choice but to search for it directly?

“Haa…”

Crackle! Crackle!!

Lennok sighed and silently pulled Davi from his arms.

“Davi!!”

Priscilla’s face brightened at the sight of the squirming fox cub, and Mila tilted her head.

“What’s this tiny animal?”

“Assistant Professor Evan is an exceptionally talented spirit user. Davi is a spirit summoned by the assistant professor.”

Priscilla, hugging Davi who had slightly turned her head, smiled faintly and said.

“She’s so popular even in our department.”

“Really? Why do I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before…?”

Mila slightly frowned and fell into thought, and Lennok subtly turned his head.

He thought he had never brought Davi out in her fox cub form when he was in his Van identity, but Mila’s reaction gave him a hunch.

‘It was when we first met.’

The magic Lennok used when he first detected her presence hidden in the undeveloped district using a druid’s charm.

The encirclement, where three foxes ran and drew a massive net of lightning, was still unforgettable in Mila’s mind.

Although Lennok’s magic had changed a lot since then, Davi’s image as a spirit inspired by that form was unavoidable.

‘Since I’m disguised as a spirit user, I can’t not bring Davi out…’

There was no excuse to stop Mila from following, so it was better to cut off Mila’s memory at an appropriate point.

[…]

Davi, for her part, was wagging her tail, looking back and forth between Mila and Priscilla.

“Davi.”

Crackle! Crackle!!

In response to his words, Davi emitted electricity from her body and released a massive surge of mana from Lennok’s arms.

Whoosh!!

A powerful wave of mana detection so intense that even the casually standing Mila flinched for a moment.

Although it was truly Lennok’s power, this level of dedication was essential for his disguise as a spirit user.

Within the sensory domain that instantly covered several kilometers nearby, Lennok opened his eyes.

Mana detection, which he had only used for sensing presences and detecting danger since awakening his magic.

However, as Lennok advanced his mastery, he focused not merely on increasing the range of his sensory domain, but on what he could accomplish within that range.

The crucial point was not how much he could perceive, but how accurately he could perceive it.

Ignoring the vast amount of information pouring into his mind and neatly selecting only what he needed was not a preference for Lennok, but a matter of survival.

Amidst this sprawling apartment complex, past decaying corpses, bloodstains, stolen goods, and various living spaces, he traced only the lingering scent of mana.

He filtered out the chaotic mana mixed in with artifacts and items, and sought out and confirmed traces that felt alive.

Davi spoke.

[Detection results show seven mana users residing in this apartment complex.]

“Oh… you can do that too?”

Mila gasped softly, but Davi cleanly ignored her and continued.

[Three of them have life signs staying on high floors, above the 10th floor, and two are in the basement. The remaining two reside around the 4th and 7th floors respectively, and are currently out.]

“…”

Both sisters fell silent at the unprecedented search capability.

Of course, both Mila and Priscilla were capable of high-level mana detection, but they lacked the ability to accurately distinguish only mana users over such a wide area, let alone the traces of those currently absent.

Mila muttered with an awkward expression.

“She’s a very sensitive friend. I’ll have to be more careful from now on.”

“For now, it would be best to look for the mana user’s residence on the 4th floor.”

“You said two people were in the basement earlier, what’s that about?”

Davi answered Priscilla’s question.

[Detected beneath the newly completed complex’s cement floor nearby. Life signs are expected to cease soon.]

“…”

Davi might not have any emotions, but the content of her statement was utterly chilling.

“…I really don’t want to get involved with that.”

Mila muttered with an awkward laugh.

If living humans were buried under cement, they were undoubtedly involved with the underworld. And even in that world, it was a method of disposal that drew a lot of criticism.

There was a possibility that getting involved with them would make things troublesome.

The group followed Davi’s detection and immediately headed towards the mana user’s residence around the 4th floor.

Among the long corridor-style apartment doors, Lennok stood before the door marked 402 and asked.

“How is it?”

“…I don’t think it’s this one.”

Priscilla, after deliberating, shook her head, and the group immediately headed to the 7th-floor residence candidate in another apartment building.

In front of the door marked 704, Priscilla clapped her hands.

“Ah, it’s here. I remember Peniah saying that the peeling paint on the doorbell bothered her.”

“Good. So what do we do now?”

Mila asked.

“You’re not planning to wait here until your friend comes home, are you, Wizard?”

“…I don’t think that will be necessary.”

Lennok said that, and naturally grabbed the doorknob.

There was no need to use Davi to pick the lock.

As soon as he turned the doorknob, the door opened smoothly, and a strong smell of blood wafted out.

Both sisters’ faces instantly hardened.

“This is…!”

Mila naturally took the lead, and Lennok followed behind, with Davi floating in the air.

Apartment 704, with three rooms.

It was excessively spacious for one person, but the feeling was diminished by the clutter filling the house.

Unidentified bone fragments and old leather of unknown origin.

Artifacts emitting a faint scent of mana, and faded raw minerals.

But what caught their eye first were the strange, unknown characters written on one side of the wall.

Written in vivid red blood, these characters reeked of a strong, metallic odor.

The scene of the chaotic room pointed to only one fact.

Something had clearly gone wrong.

“Penia!!”

Priscilla, her face pale, called Penia’s name and began searching the house.

Lennok watched her, then touched a drop of blood trickling down the wall with his finger.

“It’s too greasy. It’s not ordinary blood.”

[Component analysis confirms 4% Tenzier Oil, which is not present in normal blood composition.]

Tenzier Oil. Searching the word with Davi’s help, it seemed to be a lubricant primarily used by androids or those with mechanical augmentations.

It was a non-toxic oil, so a certain amount mixed in the blood would not cause significant health problems.

Davi continued.

[After infiltrating the blood research lab’s network, inputting the component structure, and extracting sample data, the conclusion is that there is a 71% probability it belongs to a woman of similar age to Priscilla.]

“Then it’s certain. The owner of this blood is Peniah. Considering the Tenzier Oil component… she must indeed be a follower of the Machine Cult.”

Mila’s jaw dropped at the rapid-fire conversation between the wizard and the spirit.

“No, wait… this is completely different from what I thought a spirit user was. Are you really a wizard?”

For a mere spirit to hack into a research lab’s network and use its system to detect blood components was an unprecedented sight, even for Mila, who had experienced a lot.

But Lennok put on a straight face and smiled calmly.

“My field of research is like this, you see. I inadvertently rely on various sources.”

Since things had come to this, it would be much more helpful for Lennok to subtly support Davi, who would be front and center, to avoid overlapping images with Van.

It was actually for the best. Once he solidified his standing as a spirit user under Aris, the constant scrutiny from others would likely lessen considerably.

His thesis had caused him more than a few annoyances, but showing his true skill at such a level would also reduce the number of troublesome people buzzing around.

“Ha, I knew there were many extraordinary people in this city… but I never imagined there’d be a wizard who uses spirits like this…”

While Mila was muttering with a bewildered expression, Davi wagged her tail and continued.

[The strange characters carved on the wall have also been traced to their origin through network image comparison. Although there are not enough samples to deduce their specific meaning, they are definitely characters used by the Guido Cult.]

“Well done.”

In places like magic towers or autonomous regions, where there was no real network, he couldn’t rely on her power, but within the megacity, Davi’s capabilities were limitless.

The way she instantly gathered, summarized, and organized information that Lennok would have had to painstakingly dig for himself made her truly deserving of the title