"Lose his memories, or turn into an idiot?"
The three inside the carriage exchanged glances.
Professor Medea weighed her words. "Is that the outcome described in the prophecy? If the Demon King truly loses his memories or becomes an idiot, then that's hardly a bad thing."
But Professor Silf shook her head. "That's only if Ophelia's deduction is correct. And if we can turn him into an idiot, then naturally someone could turn him back to normal. In the end, we still need to find the vessel he's reincarnated into as soon as possible. Medea, can your astrology help with that?"
Medea rolled her eyes. "What we observe are the grand currents!"
Dark stepped in to smooth things over. "Professor Silf, even Professor Medea can't perform divinations frequently. And the more precise and difficult the divination, the greater the price that must be paid."
Medea gave him an appreciative glance, then said, "Don't rush. Maybe one day I'll wake from a nap and I'll have dreamed of it."
Professor Silf pondered for a moment, then said, "In any case, we'll need to report this matter to the Principal. We'll also have to see how the Holy Church reacts. As for anything related to the Ritual, it cannot be spread. Ophelia's identity, for now, cannot be revealed either. Fortunately, not many people took part in the Ritual. Ophelia, how much does Tom know?"
Ophelia said, "Tom doesn't know my true identity. During the final stage, he was unconscious the whole time."
Professor Silf nodded. "Then it's even simpler. Virt and Robert won't talk carelessly, and Professor Hacks can be trusted, more or less."
At the mention of Professor Hacks, Dark's curiosity got the better of him. "Professor, what exactly is Professor Ryan Hacks's background?"
Professor Silf said, "To be honest, we only found out recently ourselves. He's from the Hero Hall."
Dark's brow furrowed. "And what kind of organization is the Hero Hall?" he asked, puzzled.
Professor Silf smiled. "It's a mutual-aid organization founded by war heroes who drift outside the major powers. Put simply, you can think of it as a retirement home."
Dark was startled. "A retirement home?"
"Something like that," Professor Silf said. "At least, what they do now is close to it. They gather information, help aging heroes find new employment, or discover new worth for themselves."
Dark said, "So it's that kind of organization. And here I thought…"
Professor Silf said, "Professor Hacks's grasp of the History of Magic is passable, but if all he's proficient in is modern war history, that's not enough to support the teaching load of the higher years. If he's still willing to stay at the school next academic year, we might have him keep teaching the first-years."
With that, she rose to her feet. "Since Ophelia has explained everything clearly, there's no time to lose. Let's go straight to find Professor Steven Harvey."
While it was still dark before dawn, Professor Silf led everyone directly to the faculty dormitory.
On the way there, she gave Dark a brief rundown of Professor Steven Harvey.
Steven Harvey was the current sixth-year Magic Guide Theory professor at St. Marian's Academy, one of the few surviving necromancers of this age.
Of course, like Professor Kazel, he had successfully transitioned into an outstanding Magic Guide Master.
Yet he had not abandoned his old craft. In fact, he had combined it with Magic Guide technology in his research and innovation, refining necromantic magic even further.
"A necromancer, of all things…" Dark said, surprised.
Professor Silf said, "Necromancers come in good and bad. Professor Steven Harvey ended up on this path because he was trafficked to the Tower of the Undead as a child and made into the test subject of an evil necromancer. He had no choice. He knows all too well the harm necromantic magic inflicts on life, so he holds firmly to his principles in both research and practice. He was even the pioneer who applied necromantic magic to medicine. He's a truly respectable professor."
"I see." A trace of hope entered Dark's voice. "I hope Professor Steven Harvey can bring us a pleasant surprise."
Professor Silf spoke with certainty. "There won't be a problem."
…
The way there was clear of trouble.
Under Professor Silf's guidance, the group soon arrived outside Professor Steven Harvey's dormitory.
Professor Silf signaled for Dark and the others to step back a little, then knocked on the dormitory door.
Knock knock knock, knock knock knock.
Professor Steven Harvey did not respond right away.
But Professor Silf was patient, knocking steadily and unhurried for half a minute before a faint rustling finally came from within.
"Who is it? At this hour…"
The voice through the dormitory door carried a hint of drowsiness.
After a moment, Professor Steven Harvey opened the door.
He swept a somewhat surprised glance over the people outside, then looked up. "Silf, something urgent?"
"Good morning, Professor Harvey." Professor Silf nodded. "Yes, there's indeed something urgent."
"Then come in first." Professor Steven Harvey's gaze quickly fell on Ophelia Brad and the corpse she was carrying over her shoulder, and he immediately ushered them inside.
Dark walked at the very back, his eyes full of curiosity.
The whole way here he had been guessing what sort of person Professor Steven Harvey might be, and what the inside of his dormitory would look like.
As it turned out, the former was close to what he'd imagined. Professor Steven Harvey was a short little old man, the lines of time carved especially plainly across him. But dressed in pink pajamas and a pink sleeping cap, he looked unexpectedly adorable.
As for the latter…
Stepping into the dormitory was like stepping into a clean, tidy, high-tech operating room, without a trace of the gloom and dread he'd imagined.
Professor Steven Harvey clearly noticed Dark's curiosity. He said kindly, "Little one, are you surprised there's no blood or entrails in a necromancer's room?"
Dark answered frankly, "A little, yes."
Professor Harvey smiled. "A necromancer's experiments demand a great deal of the environment. Even the slightest filth could adversely affect the work. So we usually keep things clean and tidy. Now then, it's this Magic Guide Spirit lady who's run into trouble, isn't it? The corpse you're carrying… hmm, is it your own?"
At this point, an extremely obvious astonishment crossed Professor Steven Harvey's face.
He adjusted his glasses and once more studied Ophelia Brad and her corpse carefully, then exclaimed, "How did you manage it? You actually forged a person's soul, whole and complete, into a Magic Guide Card!"
Professor Silf said softly, "An accident."
Professor Steven Harvey shook his head. "This can't be an accident. You must understand, using a soul as material to forge a high-intelligence Magic Guide Spirit is the lifelong pursuit of countless Magic Guide Masters. Of course, that filthy bunch only dare to run their experiments in dark, grimy gutters. Hmm, let me guess. You want to do the reverse: have me help extract her soul from the Magic Guide Spirit Card and transfer it back into her body?"
Professor Silf said, "As expected of Professor Harvey. Can it be done?"
Once he had his confirmation, Professor Steven Harvey strode into the room, speaking as he went. "I've never tried it, but in theory it's no great difficulty. The soul is whole, the body is whole. With a little Adhesive, they can be bonded again. But extracting the soul's consciousness intact from the Magic Guide Spirit Card may run into some trouble. Bring the corpse over first, and lay it on this examination bed."
By the time Ophelia Brad had laid her own corpse on that snow-white examination bed, Professor Steven Harvey had already used a Magic Guide Card to summon a pair of magic gloves.
He even turned around to boast, "Gloves summoned with an Equipment Card can be used without any sterilizing!"
The mood in the room went cold at once.
Professor Steven Harvey couldn't have cared less. "We'll get to everything else later. Allow me to first repair this corpse's wounds completely."
With that, he spread his hands, and the gloves lit with a faint glow. The index finger of his right hand shifted into a blade of condensed magic, extremely convenient.
Professor Steven Harvey mended the corpse swiftly. In less than three minutes, the wound on Ophelia Brad's chest was fully repaired, no trace of any injury visible on the surface.
Such miraculous skill left one speechless.
Next, Professor Harvey pushed the corpse to the inner side of the examination bed, freeing up half the space, and said to Ophelia Brad, "Lie down here. And whoever your master is, have him bring me the Magic Guide Card."
Ophelia flushed and looked toward Dark.
"Ahem!"
Dark gave a dry cough and quickly handed over the "Vampire Young Lady" Magic Guide Card.
Professor Harvey gave him a rather odd look. "So it's yours, of all people?"
Even so, he took the Magic Guide Card and examined closely that Magic Guide Spirit Card, which was clearly not forged from a standard blank card, trying to channel a little magic into it.
After meeting the blockage, he had a rough understanding. "Little one, come here and cooperate with me."
Dark walked to Professor Harvey's side and, following his instructions, channeled magic into the "Vampire Young Lady" Magic Guide Card.
The Magic Guide Card then gave off a faint ripple of magic.
Professor Harvey removed the glove from his right hand and pressed his index finger to the Magic Guide Card, feeling the fluctuations of magic as though performing a palpation.
A moment later, he examined Ophelia Brad's soul once more.
The time this whole set of examinations took was nearly ten times that of repairing the corpse.
But when it was done, Professor Harvey finally delivered a piece of fairly good news. "You're in luck. This lady's soul is not the core of this Magic Guide Card. I can extract her soul, but it will take a little time. Also, once her soul is gone, this Magic Guide Card will likely become unusable because of that missing part."
He looked at Dark and confirmed, "Since this is your Magic Guide Card, the decision is yours. Are you willing to take this risk? This is a seven-star gold card, after all."
Dark answered without hesitation. "Of course."
"Then there's no problem." Professor Harvey smiled. "Next I'll need about an hour. Withdraw her back into the card first."
Following Professor Harvey's instructions, Dark recalled Ophelia Brad into the Magic Guide Card, then placed the card on a disc engraved with dense magical circuits.
"This is a Soul-Body Centrifuge. It can loosen the bond between soul and body."
Professor Harvey explained as he made his preparations.
The pre-operative preparation alone took more than ten minutes.
The many intricate procedures were entirely beyond Dark's understanding.
Even with Professor Harvey's occasional explanations, he still couldn't quite follow. Apart from now and then channeling magic into the Magic Guide Card as instructed, he simply watched the whole time.
Professor Silf and Professor Medea had quietly slipped out during the process.
Only the old man and the young one remained in the room.
Amid Professor Harvey's dazzling operations, time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, an hour passed.
The Soul Splitting operation had finally reached its last step.
Dark pressed his finger against the Magic Guide Card, murmuring the incantation of Normal Summoning while pouring magic into the card in a steady stream.
Summoning a seven-star Magic Guide Spirit with Normal Summoning takes at least half an hour.
He had no intention of summoning her on the spot, of course. The purpose was mainly to fully activate the magic inside the Magic Guide Card through Normal Summoning.
"Careful now!"
Professor Harvey touched his wand to the face of the "Vampire Young Lady" card, then pulled hard, wrenching Ophelia Brad's soul straight out of it.
With the glove on his other hand, he formed a scalpel and carefully cut apart the connection between Ophelia Brad's soul and the Magic Guide Card, then swiftly smeared "Adhesive" over the incision and pressed the soul into Ophelia Brad's corpse.
The magic array prepared in advance activated at once, and Ophelia Brad's corpse was gradually enveloped by the magic the array released.
Professor Harvey let out a breath. "Let it rest for another half hour and it should be about right. Thanks to how intact this soul was. If my guess isn't wrong, her soul and body were separated during the Ritual, weren't they?"
Dark raised a hand and smiled. "Nothing gets past you, Professor."
"What of it?" Professor Harvey waved a casual hand. "In any case, the cutting operation was a great success. You can check whether that Magic Guide Card still works. Also, I have a proposal. Care to hear it?"
"What proposal?" Dark picked up the Magic Guide Card, curious.
"Come sit over here first." Professor Harvey walked over to the table and chairs used for receiving guests and gestured for Dark to sit.
Then he poured a cup of tea and handed it over, smiling. "I'd like to take you as my disciple. What do you say?"
Dark's eyelid twitched. Professor Harvey's sudden proposal struck him as abrupt.
But Professor Harvey spoke gently. "I won't pry into your secrets, nor will I force you to learn anything you dislike. As a relic of the last era, I only wish to witness with my own eyes the birth of a great Magic Guide Master. Are you interested in becoming the Merlin of the new age?"
____
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉