The shadow of evening slowly spread over the Central Magic Tower.
Daniel and Serys walked out of the training hall in silence.
The sound of students could still be heard behind them, everyone talking about today’s class.
Some about Lioran, some about magic, and some about the unknown man who had suddenly appeared in the middle of class and entered into a discussion with Lioran himself.
Serys waited a few minutes.
But in the end, she couldn’t hold back.
"Well?"
"Well what?" Daniel didn’t take his gaze off the distant towers.
"Your plan. How are you going to destroy his position? How are you going to make no one dare to support him?" Serys frowned.
This man had just said moments ago that he understood where to start his plan.
But how? What was that debate in the classroom anyway? What exactly happened there? She and probably all the other students hadn’t understood exactly what had happened.
In her view, those questions were just jabs at Lioran... but it seemed they had deeper meanings as well.
Daniel was silent for a few moments.
"First, I need to be sure." Then he said quietly.
"Of what?" Serys stopped.
This time, Daniel looked at her. His eyes were calm, but in their depths, something cold and calculating could be seen.
"That he’s really guilty."
"You think he’s not?"
"No, I think the chances are very high that it’s him. But probability isn’t enough. I need evidence." Daniel added and continued on his way.
"If there’s no evidence, the whole plan becomes worthless. Then we’d just have a bunch of baseless accusations."
"And that wouldn’t destroy Lioran, nor would it help you."
Serys slowly exhaled. This was exactly what she expected from Daniel. He never acted on guesswork alone.
Even if he was almost certain.
But she knew all this too, which was why she had tried so hard to find evidence.
But practically no evidence existed. So how were they going to find evidence?
She asked the same question, but Daniel just said she would find out.
A few minutes later, they returned to the special guest quarters of the tower. After entering, Daniel sat directly on one of the sofas.
Then he looked at Serys.
"Bring me all the files."
"What files?"
"Everyone who stood in Lioran’s way and died."
"All of them? Or just the most important ones? Like the tower leader’s daughter?" Serys thought for a few moments.
"All of them. Suspicious deaths, suicides, scandals, disappearances, professors who suddenly changed their stance, anyone who was ever against him."
Serys’s gaze became serious.
"There are a lot of these files."
"Good. The more, the better." Daniel smiled. The more files there were, the higher the chance that Lioran had left a trail somewhere.
Half an hour later, a mountain of files had gathered on the room’s table.
Some old, some new, some sealed, and some so confidential that even most tower members couldn’t access them.
Serys sat on a chair, fatigue showing on her face.
"For years, there have been rumors about these files, but no one has ever been able to prove anything."
"That’s what has made Lioran seem untouchable."
Daniel said nothing, just began to study. Hours passed, file after file.
Names, dates, reports, witness statements, official documents. Daniel read everything.
With unnatural speed, as if his mind were a living archive. Finally, his hand stopped on one file.
The tower leader’s daughter. A genius who was once considered the tower’s certain future. A talent described as even greater than Lioran to some extent.
Unrivaled popularity. But then... suicide. The case was closed.
Official reason: mental pressure, mental exhaustion, failure in the cultivation path.
But the more he read... the deeper Daniel’s frown became. Not because of the presence of evidence, but because of its absence. Some testimonies were incomplete. The timing of some events was strange.
And most importantly... it was too clean. As if someone had worked on this file for years.
But still, there was no evidence. Only contradictions, only a sense of wrongness.
According to these reports, this girl had no reason to be depressed. Practically no reason at all. Even Serys confirmed this.
Serys and that girl had grown up together; she knew her very well. So why would she commit suicide due to depression?
Was that even logical?
When night fell, the magic tower grew quieter.
The light of thousands of magical arrays shone in the darkness, and the black ocean surrounding the island rippled under the moonlight like a silent monster.
Daniel stood by the window, his gaze fixed on the main tower.
The files were completely clean. There were flaws and inconsistencies, but only to that extent. This was not something that could be done so easily.
Then he quietly raised his hand. The shadows in the room began to tremble.
The candlelight dimmed, the space grew darker, the walls seemed to stretch.
And suddenly... the shadows came alive. Several figures quietly emerged from the darkness.
The Fallen.
Serys unconsciously held her breath. She had almost forgotten... she had forgotten that the man standing beside her was not just a powerful swordsman, but the commander of an army of monsters.
One of the Fallen knelt.
"Master."
The second bowed its head.
"Command us."
The third, without even looking around, remained waiting for orders.
"Search for the truth." Daniel said quietly.
Then he continued.
"Not what people believe, not what’s written in the files... I want the truth."
He listed the names one by one.
Dead professors, Lioran’s old rivals, former servants, retired guards, and finally... the tower leader’s daughter.
Several of the Fallen raised their heads.
Daniel continued:
"I want you to secretly search the entire tower. Spy on whoever is necessary. Spy wherever is necessary. Report anything you find."
"Don’t overlook the smallest details... Find evidence that proves everything was Lioran’s doing." Daniel knew it wouldn’t be that easy to find anything.
It would be necessary to spy on Lioran’s closest current associates and even Lioran himself to find evidence.
The Fallen nodded. A few moments later, the shadows moved again.
And the Fallen disappeared one by one into the darkness.
So skillfully that even if Heavenly Mages had been watching, they probably wouldn’t have sensed anything.
But just before the last one disappeared... he suddenly paused. A few seconds of silence passed, then he raised his head.
"Master..."
Daniel looked at him. This Fallen was actually the Holy Emperor, whom he had turned into a Fallen on the fourth floor.
"Something’s strange."
"What?"
The Fallen thought for a moment.
"Lioran’s name is almost never mentioned in any of the files." Then he said quietly.
"Well, that’s obvious. There’s no evidence against him." Serys immediately answered.
"No, that’s not what I mean." His dark eyes narrowed.
"I mean it’s too clean."
The room suddenly fell silent.
"Too clean?" Daniel pondered.
The Fallen pointed to the files on the table.
"With this many events over all these years, it’s not natural. Even the most innocent person in the world would leave some trace somewhere. Even if just as a witness or something."
"But here..." He was silent for a few seconds, then said a sentence that made Daniel’s gaze change.
"It’s as if someone spent years erasing all the traces. Lioran’s name is never mentioned in these files in any form."
"When I was still the Holy Emperor, I witnessed politicians doing such things. They would completely remove their names from files, because names in such files, whether good or bad, could negatively affect reputations."
"Thank you." Daniel smiled and then gestured for him to proceed with his mission.
Then his gaze fell on Serys, and he asked:
"Can I see the body of the tower leader’s daughter?" The best course of action was simply to ask the tower leader’s daughter herself.