Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!-Chapter 72 -: 71 A shocking change? [Bonus - ]
Professor Ignel stood up with great difficulty.
His legs shook, and every muscle in his body screamed in protest.
He was exhausted to the bone.
Acting as a living channel for all that compressed mana, enough to power a spell from a 2nd Heavenly Trial caster, had taken everything out of him.
Still, he forced himself upright and looked up at the sky.
*Screeech!*
The messenger eagle was circling high above his head, crying loudly as it searched for a good place to land.
Ignel raised his right arm like a tree branch and shouted, "Come here!"
*Screeech!*
The eagle answered with another sharp cry and dove down in a smooth spiral.
*Thuk!*
It landed perfectly on Ignel’s outstretched arm, its sharp talons gripping gently.
Then it started preening its feathers with its beak, looking very pleased with itself.
Professor Ignel glanced at the small scroll tied to the eagle’s leg.
"Let’s see who sent you," he muttered.
He reached over carefully and untied the letter.
The moment the scroll was free, the eagle gave one last loud *screeech!*
Flapped its powerful wings, and shot back into the sky. It quickly disappeared into the dark distance.
Professor Ignel let out a tired sigh as he unrolled the small letter.
"Greetings, Professors of the Royal Arcane Academy!"
"I will keep this short. From my sources, I have learned that there will be an attack on the academy today!"
Ignel chuckled weakly, still breathing hard.
"Took you long enough," he muttered. "We already killed that damn dragon..."
But as he kept reading, his smile slowly faded.
"The attack was planned by someone inside."
"Hmm?" Ignel raised one eyebrow.
He continued reading, and the next lines made his stomach drop.
"However, the deeper objective is far more than that..."
"Deeper objective?" he whispered.
His eyes moved faster across the paper.
"The deeper objective of the perpetrators is... the Divination Board!"
The moment he read those words, Professor Ignel’s eyes widened in pure shock.
"Divination Board?!" he muttered under his breath.
His face went pale. A cold wave of dread washed over him.
He instantly turned his head toward the academy’s main building, specifically toward the underground area where the Divination Board was kept.
And right at that exact second...
"BOOM!!!"
A massive explosion erupted from the underground section of the academy.
The ground shook violently. A column of dust and smoke shot into the night sky.
"FUCK!" Ignel cursed loudly.
His exhaustion vanished in an instant, replaced by pure panic.
His heart hammered against his ribs like a war drum.
Without wasting even a single breath, he launched himself into the air at full speed.
His body glowed with leftover mana as he flew straight toward the explosion site like a human rocket.
"No... no, no, no!"
The Divination Board was one of the academy’s most precious and dangerous treasures.
Professor Ignel’s stomach twisted into a tight knot as he flew through the night sky.
"The heroes of the past will never forgive us if it gets stolen!" he thought, panic rising in his chest.
His breathing grew rough and ragged.
Flying at full speed after using that much mana was killing him, but he didn’t slow down even a little.
This wasn’t just any treasure.
The Divination Board had been kept in the academy for over 700 years.
It was one of the most precious relics left behind by the ancient heroes.
During the great war against the Zlycons, it helped the heroes predict enemy movements, predict outcome of battles, and turn the tide of war again and again.
"If it fell into the wrong hands now..."
Ignel didn’t even finish the thought. He already knew who was behind this.
The dragon they had just fought was only a clone, a weak copy with just a fragment of its real power.
The records from 700 years ago clearly described the exact same creature.
That meant only one group could be responsible.
The Zlycons.
He had already suspected they had spies hiding inside the academy.
He had planned to start a quiet, thorough investigation after tonight.
But if they managed to steal the Divination Board...
"It will be a complete disaster!" Ignel growled through gritted teeth.
He pushed himself even faster, ignoring the burning pain in his body.
Finally, he reached the underground basement of the main academy building.
He dropped from the sky and landed hard in front of the entrance.
The heavy main door was wide open.
That could only mean one thing, someone had already broken in.
Ignel’s heart pounded harder.
He rushed inside without hesitation and broke into a full sprint down the dimly lit corridor toward the storage room.
His footsteps echoed loudly off the stone walls.
He turned a sharp corner...
And froze instantly.
His eyes widened in shock.
Blood.
A trail of fresh red blood was smeared across the floor, leading straight toward the storage room where the Divination Board was kept.
Ignel’s face turned pale.
"No..." he whispered, voice hoarse.
Professor Ignel stared at the trail of blood on the floor.
It wasn’t just random drops.
There were clear footsteps, someone had walked here while seriously injured.
Fresh blood still glistened on the stone.
He gritted his teeth so hard that blood appeared in his mouth.
The metallic taste snapped him back to his senses.
He didn’t stop to examine the blood. There was no time.
He hurried toward the storage room. After just a few steps, he froze mid-stride.
The heavy storage door, which was normally sealed by dozens of powerful restrictive spells, was now wide open.
And the area around it showed clear signs of a fierce battle.
The walls were scratched and cracked.
Pieces of stone and debris littered the ground.
On both sides of the doorway, dozens of weapons were stuck in the walls and floor, swords, spears, axes, hammers, and more.
It looked like someone had unleashed a storm of weapons directly at the door.
Ignel’s face turned pale.
"It’s..." he stammered, voice shaking. "It’s Lady Elizabeth’s signature spell... Magic Arsenal!"
His eyes widened in pure shock.
He rushed forward.
The closer he got to the door, the more blood he saw, large puddles and smears everywhere, mixed with even more signs of battle.
Finally, he reached the open doorway and stepped inside.
The moment he entered the storage room, his stomach knotted tightly and his eyes shot wide open.
"Th... this... wha..."
No sound came out of his mouth at first. He was too stunned to speak.
The room was a complete mess.
Broken furniture, shattered magic circles, and blood everywhere.
And right in the middle of it all...
"J-Julius...?"
