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Academy City, School District 7.
This city, which occupied a full third of Tokyo's land, had an extremely systematic internal division of areas.
These areas were each referred to as "School Districts," from District 1 all the way to District 23, neatly dividing Academy City into twenty-three regions.
Each district had its own distinct purpose.
For example, District 1 was filled with judicial and administrative institutions. Related universities and facilities were also located there, giving it none of the everyday atmosphere that other districts had.
District 2, on the other hand, specialized in the development of automobiles and gunpowder. A district with a heavy industrial air, it was lined with research institutes studying cars, explosives, and other noise-generating technologies. Tall soundproofing walls encircled the area, equipped with devices that could emit reverse-phase sound waves to cancel out noise. Because of this, it was considered the most confidential district.
District 3 contained numerous external facilities such as international exhibition centers and international hotels.
Meanwhile, District 7 was the main activity hub for high school and middle school students. Most ordinary schools and dormitories were located here, and even the residence of Academy City's Superintendent could be found in this district.
Naturally, Fang Li's dormitory was also located here.
At this moment, inside one of the dorm rooms, someone was lying under the covers, sound asleep.
That person was Fang Li.
No. More accurately, it was a Magic Doll bearing Fang Li's appearance.
"Hū————!"
A gust of wind stirred, causing the curtains on the balcony to flutter.
Hidden seamlessly within the darkness using Hide and Stealth, the real Fang Li rode the night wind back from outside, silently slipping into his room.
Looking at the figure on the bed, identical to himself in every way, Fang Li concealed in the darkness let out a faint chuckle.
(Although it only perfectly simulates appearance and vital signs, with no combat ability whatsoever, in this kind of situation it's still useful.)
Thus Fang Li left the Magic Doll within Academy City while he himself had used Hide and Stealth to slip out unnoticed.
(Even if this can't fool just anyone, when it comes to deceiving UNDER_LINE, it's simply perfect.)
Muttering inwardly, Fang Li pulled a jewel from his chest.
"Wong…"
The jewel trembled slightly, releasing invisible power that instantly formed a barrier undetectable to anyone.
At the moment the barrier took shape, the nanomachines, impossible to see with the naked eye, should have already been swept away without a trace.
Only then did Fang Li deactivate his Skills. He removed his black clothing, took off his mask, and placed a hand on the body of the Magic Doll beneath the covers.
"Kacha…"
With a faint mechanical sound, the Magic Doll suddenly shrank, finally becoming a small palm-sized figure. Fang Li stowed the black outfit, the mask, and the doll into his Fairy Bag, then dissolved the barrier.
There were as many as fifty million units of UNDER_LINE spread across Academy City, but they floated in the air in dispersed form.
So in such a short window of time, even if there was no footage captured from this particular room, it would only be assumed that the local UNDER_LINE node had drifted elsewhere. It wouldn't arouse suspicion.
In fact, Fang Li had already been cautious enough.
With that, Fang Li slipped into the bed.
In his hand was a book.
On its cover, these words were written:
——"Gospel."
The so-called Gospel referred to good news beneficial to the people—words and voices capable of bringing happiness to mankind.
This term was a Christianity-exclusive word, used to express the joyous proclamation that through Jesus Christ, mankind was saved from sin.
Therefore, the concept of the Gospel appeared in both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible.
In fact, in the New Testament, the first four books were even called the Gospels, narrating Jesus' birth, life, mission, crucifixion, and resurrection.
Because of this, the Gospel Books held extraordinary meaning for Christianity.
"No wonder it was chosen as an item for missionary work."
Now that this original Magic Path scripture had been stolen, the Roman Catholic Church would undoubtedly fall into chaos.
If they learned that the book was inside Academy City, then just for that reason alone, the Roman Catholic Church might declare war on the city.
When that happened, Fang Li would definitely become the prime culprit behind the clash of two massive powers. He would be accused by all, and perhaps even arrested by Academy City for the sake of peace and handed over to the Roman Catholic Church, only to be executed under their Judgement.
Yet, despite the gravity of the situation, Fang Li showed no concern at all. He simply ran his fingers over the bottom-right corner of the book's cover.
There, a single word was written:
——『Luke』.
Seeing this, Fang Li suddenly understood.
"So that's how it is… this is only one of the Four Gospels?"
The first four volumes of the New Testament were known as the Four Gospel Books: The Gospel of Matthew, The Gospel of Mark, The Gospel of Luke, and The Gospel of John.
What Fang Li had seized was none other than the Gospel of Luke.
"I wonder what kind of magic is recorded inside…"
After all, the only knowledge Fang Li had of the Gospels came from Christian doctrine—stuff you could even look up online.
But this Gospel Book was essentially a Magic Path scripture and an original one at that.
Inside, there must be magic techniques that had been passed down since the very formation of the New Testament.
"If my Class were that of a Mage, perhaps I could try reading it."
If any mage had heard those words, they would have been utterly terrified.
Because Magic Path scriptures were forbidden books. Not only did they possess automatic counterattack abilities, but even just reading their contents could cause a normal person's mind and spirit to collapse.
Even mages could not endure the burden of more than three such books. To open an original scripture was unthinkable.
If Fang Li so much as flipped this book open, in that very instant, his mind would be crushed by overwhelming spiritual pressure. It would be like being poisoned, instant death.
Of course, if he truly wanted to read the book, Fang Li still had some methods.
And more importantly, the Gospel Book was incredibly tempting.
"Although I'm not a Mage, maybe Sylvia could gain inspiration from it."
After all, the meaning of the Gospel was "words and voices that could bring happiness to people."
So, the magic recorded within this original Gospel Book might very well be related to that kind of spell.
If that was the case, then perhaps Sylvia could draw upon its mysteries, even if only a little.
After all, as a Strega (Witch) who used singing as her weapon, even if she couldn't directly learn magic, if she could gain revelation from this book, she might be able to compose songs with similar effects.
After all, her Omnipotent Ability was activated through Song.
Except for Healing-type Abilities, theoretically, she could use all others as well.
As long as Sylvia could sing a song imbued with such an Ability…
Thinking along these lines, Fang Li became more and more convinced.
"Tomorrow, I'll let Sylvia try it."
(End Of This Chapter)