Chapter 321: Cross of the Apostles
"Who is in possession of the Stab Sword now?"
Flying invisibly through the air, George asked Aleister.
He only needed to follow the person holding the Stab Sword, because the critical issue was ensuring that this special spiritual equipment—capable of instantly killing a Saint—did not leave Academy City and fall into the hands of the Roman Catholic Church.
Therefore, regardless of who currently possessed it, as long as something unexpected happened, all he needed to do was seize it, and his mission would be complete.
"It's in Oriana Thomson's hands. But it's a bit strange—Lidovia Lorenzetti from the Roman Catholic Church only made a short round inside Academy City and then left.
So their goal might not be to trade the Stab Sword."
The cunning Aleister had already sniffed out a whiff of conspiracy from the odd behavior of the two female magicians.
If the goal really were to trade the Stab Sword, then it would make sense to meet quickly, complete the exchange, and retreat immediately—not to have one of them wander aimlessly within Academy City while the other turned around and left.
"Should I make a move and just kill her directly?"
George asked again.
According to his usual approach, he preferred resolving problems before the conspiracy even had a chance to unfold—that was the safest method.
However, Aleister clearly didn't share the same view.
"A magician dying in Academy City would be troublesome. Let's wait and see, observe what their real objective is."
"Suit yourself. I don't really care either way."
George nodded.
Whatever conspiracy the Roman Catholic Church was brewing didn't concern him; he was only dealing with Aleister in a transaction. If Aleister said to act, he would act.
Still, he vaguely felt that Aleister's reluctance to let him eliminate the threat immediately wasn't just because of what he had explained.
It seemed to have something to do with that Kamijou Touma. His instincts told him Aleister placed considerable importance on that Kamijou Touma.
It made sense. A bearer of Imagine Breaker—capable of negating all magic and supernatural powers—was indeed worth paying attention to.
"So it's her, then!"
Following Aleister's instructions, he quickly found the delivery woman, Oriana Thomson.
She appeared to be a mature woman in her thirties, with dazzling, voluminous golden curls and blue eyes. Her outfit was extremely provocative, and her figure was quite voluptuous.
She wore a gray men's work shirt on top, fastened with only one button. Underneath, she wore absolutely nothing. As she walked, her body swayed suggestively, and it seemed that single button might burst at any moment.
On the bottom, she wore matching work pants, but surprisingly hadn't fastened the button or zipper. If the pants hadn't been tight, they would've likely fallen off after just a few steps.
On her back, she carried a long, cloth-wrapped object of unknown origin.
"Is that the Stab Sword? Why can't I feel any magical energy from it?"
George looked at the object on Oriana's back, the doubt in his eyes flashing briefly.
However, he didn't dwell too much on it. A spiritual tool capable of instantly killing a Saint had to be top-tier—it would be natural for it to suppress magical waves.
Moreover, carrying such a powerful artifact would surely require a pre-cast spell to mask its magical signature to avoid detection.
"This woman looks like she's out shopping, no sense of urgency at all."
Floating above Oriana, George noticed she was simply strolling about aimlessly, at best scouting the area and familiarizing herself with the Academy City environment.
"How bizarre."
Roughly an hour later, he saw Oriana approach Kamijou Touma and, under the pretense of a handshake, attempt to cast some kind of spell on him.
Unfortunately for her, it was immediately nullified by Kamijou Touma's right hand, and she quickly attempted to retreat.
But by that point, Kamijou Touma had already sensed something was wrong. While contacting two teammates who were working with him, he discreetly followed her.
Unfortunately, as a tracking expert, Kamijou's tailing attempt was quickly noticed by Oriana.
She pulled a card from a set of over a hundred cards strung together by a metal ring, held it between her lips, and it immediately became enveloped in a spell, transforming into a magical communication device similar to a phone.
From the contents of her conversation, George inferred that she was likely calling Lidovia Lorenzetti, the Roman Catholic Church's high-ranking official.
"That spell is pretty interesting."
Watching Oriana use just one spell to communicate across long distances, George immediately showed a curious expression.
Among the spells he had learned, there truly wasn't anything like this.
He could send his guardian spirit to relay messages over long distances, but that took time. He could also create magical crystal balls like those in the Fairy Tail world, but those were magical tools that required time to make in advance and weren't nearly as convenient.
"Since you've used it, then your magic is now mine."
Though he couldn't act outside, within Academy City, he could do what he did to Shirley—wait until it was over and secretly extract Oriana's memories, copying all the magical knowledge in her mind into his own brain.
Unfortunately, Lidovia Lorenzetti wasn't in Academy City. Otherwise, he would've copied her memories as well.
Realizing she was being tailed, Oriana began running at full speed, eventually entering a large warehouse. Inside, she drew several cards in succession and set up a series of magical traps.
Meanwhile, having been notified by phone, the magic-user from Necessarius and one of Kamijou's classmates also arrived.
A fierce battle ensued in the warehouse. Thanks to her pre-arranged elemental traps, Oriana ultimately escaped pursuit successfully.
Naturally, George continued following her.
What followed was a back-and-forth of tracking and counter-tracking magic that lasted until the afternoon. Kamijou Touma finally caught up with Oriana.
Using his Imagine Breaker to nullify her spells, he engaged in close combat and temporarily knocked her out, seizing the object Oriana had been carrying on her back.
But when he unwrapped it, he discovered it wasn't the Stab Sword at all—just a plain shop signboard.
"The item is fake. What now? Should I act?"
Still tailing Oriana, George followed her to a deserted underground stairwell and reported the situation to Aleister.
Very quickly, Aleister replied:
"Do it. We've received confirmation from the Necessarius Archbishop that the Stab Sword never existed. What they brought this time is the Roman Catholic Church's top-tier spiritual equipment that they've always denied existed—Cross of the Apostles!"
"The Cross of the Apostles… So it really does exist."
Hearing this, George was momentarily stunned.
He had seen information about this artifact in Shirley's memories, but the Roman Catholic Church had always denied its existence, dismissing it as slander fabricated by other churches to defame them.
(End of Chapter)