454 Gloating (1/2)
In the magic tower of the Congress' headquarter in Allyn.
The always young and vigorous Rachel had put on a dark magic robe, which revealed her heavy mood. She had been waiting for the final result of the experiments conducted by His Excellency Mr. Brook and Mr. Lauren, wondering what the results would be and if they could deny Lucien's light quantum hypothesis.
Affected by her best friend Samantha, Rachel's cognitive world had changed a lot in the past three years. She was no longer a solid supporter of the wave theory of light, instead, she was now even leaning towards Lucien Evans' hypothesis. However, all the knowledge that she had acquired since she was an apprentice, together with the classic double-slit interference image as well as the Brook bright spot, all reminded her that light displayed the nature of the wave.
Maybe just like Lucien said, they should go up to a higher level to examine the stalemate between the wave and the particle theory. Rachel thought to herself before stepping on the stairs. Taking back her right foot, she quickly turned around and headed for the exchange office. Although in her teacher's office, she would get to read the latest issue of Arcana half an hour later, Rachel could not wait any longer.
Her pace was slightly faster than usual. When she came close to the exchange office, Rachel saw it was crowded with people. She was not surprised — Everyone was waiting for the experiment result of the wave and particle war. Normally, there wasn't such a big crowd waiting for Arcana, as most arcanists below senior-rank could not understand all the articles on it.
Rachel forced her way into the crowd, trying to reach one of the desks in the corner surrounded by slightly less people. What made her feel strange was that the crowd was rather quiet. Strangely quiet.
”What happened?” Rachel wondered. Driven by curiosity, Rachel cast a couple of spells on herself and pushed herself to the exchange desk surrounded by most people.
”Ah!… ” The short scream stopped abruptly.
Rachel saw an incomplete body, head exploded… red blood, white brain tissues, and the latest issue of Arcana lying open on the floor.
Many arcanists in the crowd had killed someone in the past, however, the scene was still too much for them. After all, in the recent hundred years, head-exploding was just a remote story told by seniors. Only some middle-rank and senior-rank sorcerers from the Will of Elements and the Hand of Paleness had witnessed it once. On the contrary, pastors or cardinals turning into a holy light torch or fireworks could be seen every once in a while.
Those low-rank sorcerers and apprentices who hadn't been sent out on missions before were even more frightened. Murmuring the terrifying name and the title, Headcrusher, their faces had turned pale as if their heads were tightly grasped in the claws of a devil lord.
Rachel wondered if more arcanists would come to her and her teacher for illusionary therapy for curing mental trauma in the future; After all, Chicken Soup for the Soul was popular among arcanists… She had no idea why the thought came to her at this depressing moment.
The scene was not the major cause of the stressful and terrifying atmosphere, instead, it was because of the journal lying open on the floor. On the page shown, there were several lines of bold letters,
”… I did the experiment for fighting against the light quantum hypothesis. However, the result and the experiment image perfected matched the features of the light quanta. So I have to admit that my effort for denying the hypothesis turned out to be, at this stage, the evidence supporting it…”
”— Edwyn Brook, grand arcanist, level four in the legendary class 'the Emperor of Control.'”
Rachel removed her eyesight from the page and turned to look up at the ceiling. She did not know what to say — Since she became a student of the magic school, the wave theory was one of the most fundamental beliefs introduced by her teachers. In her mind, the wave theory of light was like a giant tower, standing straight up on the solid ground just like the other theoretical systems put forward by His Excellency Mr. Douglas and Mr. Brook.
She felt that the world had become strange to her.
The rare sentimental feeling seized Rachel's heart. Silently, she retreated herself from the crowd and then went to the Arcana Review Board. Knocking at the door of her teacher's office, Rachel felt that she was like a child seeking her mother's comfort.
”Come in.” Isabella's voice came from behind the door.
Hearing her teacher's voice, Rachel suddenly woke up from her dreamlike wandering and found herself in the wrong place. She was supposed to go to the Brain and Hormone Research Center beside the Atom Institution to wait for her teacher. Also, Ms. Isabella wasn't supposed to be in her office this early.
Carefully pushing open the door, Rachel saw that her teacher's magic robe had turned into a long black dress. On Isabella's chest, there was a small white flower.
”Who is it…?” Rachel asked carefully.
”Lauren, Christal…” Isabella said the names sorrowfully. She had known those stubborn mages for quite some years.
”Mr. Lauren…?” Rachel recalled the look of the tall and thin elder man. But what left her with the deepest impression about him was the row of badges in front of his chest, indicating the great honor that belonged him.