The interrogation room was located in the deepest part of the central tower; a place where even the stone walls were covered with layers of ancient runes so that no magic could hide the truth or deceive the mind.
The blue light of the crystals installed on the walls illuminated the cold, lifeless space, and the heavy silence that reigned there made even breathing difficult.
At the end of the room, the tower leader sat on his stone chair. His face appeared calm, but it was a calmness that, more than anything, concealed a storm that could be unleashed at any moment.
On his right, Azreon stood motionless, his hands resting on his long staff. The old man’s gaze had not left the potion maker even once since his entry.
Varcas stood a bit further away, arms crossed over his chest, silent and only observing the environment.
Two prominent mind-magic professors were also ready beside the interrogation table, and behind them, several Supreme Council members with serious faces waited for the session to begin.
The tower has a judicial system, and under normal circumstances, criminal matters and complaints are handled by this system, with the Supreme Council not intervening.
But this matter was so significant that the Supreme Council had no choice but to handle it themselves. After all, this involved the deaths of mages and even the tower leader’s daughter.
They wanted to ensure the truth was truly revealed.
Lioran was also present among them. He had requested to be present at the interrogation himself.
His reasoning was simple: if one of his students had become a suspect, he too wanted the truth to come to light.
No one had been able to object to this request, but he had been strictly warned that he had no right to speak.
Everyone’s gaze was on the potion maker. His hands were bound with special mana-suppressing chains, but he was still struggling with all his might.
"I’m innocent!"
"All of this is a lie!"
"I don’t even know that mage!" The veins in his neck bulged from the pressure.
"He’s gone mad! Everything he said is nonsense!"
"Can we begin?" Varcas looked at the two mind-magic professors and said.
A few moments later, one of the mind-magic professors stepped forward.
Mana gathered between his fingers, and golden runes formed in the air.
Truth Detection Spell.
A gentle light enveloped the potion maker’s entire body, and a few seconds of silence followed. The professor closed his eyes to examine the spell’s result.
When he opened them again, a deep frown settled on his face.
"...He’s not lying." Several people simultaneously raised their heads.
"How is that possible...?" Varcas muttered under his breath.
The professor checked again, and the result was the same.
"He truly believes he’s innocent."
A murmur spread among the council members. The tower leader spoke for the first time.
"Higher-level spells. Remove all restrictions."
The two mind-magic professors exchanged glances. Higher-level spells could damage the mind and soul. Under normal circumstances, they were never permitted to use them.
One of them took a deep breath.
"Understood."
Several magic circles formed simultaneously beneath the potion maker.
Memory Recall Spell.
Compulsion to Truth Spell.
Mind Resistance Breaking Spell.
Complex runes activated one after another. The mana pressure was so heavy that even the council members unconsciously activated their defensive shields.
The potion maker suddenly screamed.
"AAAAAAH!"
His entire body trembled. The veins on his forehead swelled, and cold sweat poured down his face.
"I... didn’t do anything!"
The second spell activated.
His eyes involuntarily remained open. He tried to close his mouth, but his lips moved against his will.
"No... no..."
Seeing that this wasn’t enough, the two mind-magic professors frowned and exchanged glances. They still had one more option, but using it could destroy this person’s entire future and potential.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say he might even become paralyzed!
They looked at the tower leader, who made no attempt to stop them. They continued.
The third spell began.
This time, the pressure was applied directly to his mind. His scream echoed even through the outside hallways. A few seconds later, his head involuntarily dropped.
His breathing had become heavy.
No trace of resistance remained in his eyes. His gaze was empty and lifeless, as if someone else had taken his place.
"Answer the question. Were all the deaths suicides or murders? Were you really involved in the murders?" The mind-magic professor asked quietly.
A few seconds of silence followed.
"...Yes." Then the potion maker said in a completely hollow voice.
Everyone involuntarily leaned forward, waiting for the rest of those damned words to come out of his mouth.
"The deaths... were not suicides."
No sound remained in the room. The tower leader quietly rose from his seat. His simple movement was enough to multiply his presence’s pressure several times over.
No one even dared to breathe.
"Who gave the orders?" Varcas asked coldly.
The potion maker remained motionless for a few seconds, his lips opening and closing several times, as if trying with all his might not to speak.
"Professor..."
Everyone’s gaze unconsciously turned to Lioran. The atmosphere had become so heavy that even the ticking of the wall clock could be heard.
But Lioran’s face was completely indifferent, as if he wasn’t worried at all.
"...Morcan."
For a moment, time stopped.
"Impossible!" One of the mind-magic professors shouted in disbelief.
"Morcan?! He’s been in the tower for three hundred years! His entire life has been spent teaching magic! It’s impossible!" Even for Varcas, it was unbelievable.
Commotion filled the entire room. Even Azreon didn’t know what to say. That all those suicides had actually been murders... then what had these fools been doing all this time?
How had they not noticed?
Amidst the chaos, gazes turned back to Lioran. He remained completely motionless for a few seconds, then his eyebrows slowly furrowed.
"...Professor Morcan?" His voice was neither loud nor theatrical, just mixed with disbelief.
"This... is impossible. I’ve known him for years. I can never believe it..." Several who had been suspicious of him moments ago slowly turned their gazes away.
His reaction was natural. Exactly the reaction expected from a student toward an old professor.
But Azreon, without saying anything, just looked at Lioran’s face. He couldn’t forget the look that boy and the potion maker had exchanged.
The tower leader still stood silently. So silent that this silence was more terrifying than any scream.
Suddenly... mana erupted from his body. The room’s walls trembled. The crystals on the ceiling cracked one after another.
All the thick windows shattered with a massive explosion. Stone columns made cracking sounds. Several council members barely managed to stay on their feet.
Even the senior professors unconsciously activated their defensive shields.
No one... no one had ever seen the tower leader in such a state until today.
His eyes were no longer calm. Only rage could be seen in them. A rage that had been suppressed for years.
For years... he had blamed himself for his daughter’s death. For years, he had thought Aurelia had finally broken under the pressure and ended her own life.
For years, he had blamed himself for not being a better father.
But now... all those years had been nothing but a lie. Aurelia... had been murdered.
The entire room’s space groaned under the pressure of his mana. The potion maker, placed directly under his aura, exploded in an instant, leaving nothing behind.
He turned into thousands of pieces of flesh, and blood splattered everywhere.
Lioran showed no reaction upon seeing this scene... but deep down, even he felt fear.
Not just him, but everyone present except Azreon felt fear.
The tower leader, with a voice trembling with rage, uttered only one name.
"...Morcan... Morcan... Morcan... Morcan." Then, in a tone that held nothing but anger, he said:
"Capture him alive." A few seconds of silence followed.
"If even one person..." The mana pressure increased again.
"touches him before I do... I will personally destroy them."
No one dared to object. Varcas left the room and immediately issued the order.
Several groups of elite professors and guards immediately headed toward Morcan’s residence. To ensure nothing went wrong, Varcas went with them.
Only a few minutes later, they stood before Professor Morcan’s quarters.
The door was closed. No response came.
"Break the door down."
With one strike, the wooden door was knocked off its hinges. Everyone rushed inside. The rooms were searched one by one.
The study, the laboratory, the library, the bedroom. Everything was perfectly in order.
No sign of a struggle, no sign of haste, not even the smallest trace of the occupant. On the table by the window, only a half-drunk cup of tea still emitted a very faint wisp of steam.
As if its owner... had left only moments ago.