Ascension Of The Failed Mage

Worst of all, was that Noir had not been seen telling a lie even once, proving his innocence.

"S-so you're saying... whoever you tried to apprehend was the one who killed Richard...?!" Julian Resoor retorted, now trying to walk on safe grounds.

"Correct. If he wasn't dangerous, I wouldn't have dared come into the Institute." Noir smiled.

Noir's eyes met Trevor, who slightly recoiled upon meeting his gaze. Trevor had his separate thoughts on the matter since he had confronted Noir before.

'This guy... is lying!' His mind rang.

Noir had already infiltrated the Institute before last night, and even had a match with him Trevor knew all this, yet he was amazed as to why none of Noir's statements, even the false ones were registered as lies.

'It must be due to his Bloodline Magic that nullifies all other magic... I see...'

Noir must have somehow interfered with the truth-seeking magic and was able to get things to flow in his direction. Such was Trevor's thoughts.

​ "It will be a little difficult to believe your words, though," Trevor said calmly.

Noir's eyes darted in his direction, causing Trevor to shudder a little. Though he had noticed Noir's little trick, he wasn't going to go out of his way to point it out. That would only create an even bigger issue, and knowing Noir, he must have had a plan in place.

'If I do anything now, he'll only retaliate further. It's best to play it safe...'

Still, as a Judge, Trevor was well within his rights to question Noir's statements without any bias, which was why he prodded at Noir's defense.

"What do you mean?" Noir asked.

"You are attributing the cause of the death of Professor Richard Lawcroft to an unknown person, but we have no evidence of such person's identity in the slightest. The only things we have are your words of testimony. So, tell us... what is the proof of this person's existence? Let us not forget that this is the basis of your argument."

Richard concluded his words and smiled.

He was expecting something exceptional as a response. So far, Noir had managed to wriggle out of all accusations. If he ended up proving this, he would be a free man.

No, he would be more than that.

The trial which was supposed to oversee his unlawful entry into the Institute's grounds had turned into a murder accusation. Surely, if the court was unable to prove him guilty, Noir would be privy to confidential information concerning the death of a professor, and the inability of the Institute to catch the perpetrator.

Not only that, but he would also need compensation for being wrongfully accused of a crime he knew nothing about. The fact that he had to protect his employer who was meant to be safe in the institute was also a factor. Also, if Noir proved that he indeed nearly killed the murderer of their Professor, the Magic Institute would owe him.

'Is this what you were after from the start, Sir Noir?' Trevor thought as he gazed upon Noir's unbothered face.

"I may not look it, but I am a skilled mage. I expected something like this might happen, so I used Magic to take footage of the whole fight between me and my opponent, the one most likely responsible for killing your professor."

The audience was shocked by this sudden revelation, and the Judges were equally amazed. Using magic to record events was highly rare and complex since it involved analyzing incidents in real-time. It was at least Tier 6 magic. Putting into consideration that Noir had to have been fighting while also recording the whole thing, it made everyone ponder as to what level Noir had reached.

'Such a skilled mage exists without our knowledge?!'

However, another question flashed in their mind. If Noir had such decisive evidence, why hadn't he presented it sooner?

"I allowed myself to be captured because I wasn't guilty of anything, and I thought I could show you the whole thing to prove my point. However, you all began accusing me of something entirely different from what I did. In my opinion, you derailed this entire case." Noir stated.

"Mr. Noir... you admit to having the footage, and your innocence concerning the professor's death has been taken into consideration. Now, would you show us the recording?" Julian Resoor asked.

Noir nodded, however, he looked at the golden light that restricted him. Also raising his hand, he revealed the cuffs he had on which prevented him from casting any spell.

"Release him," Julian ordered the guards.

They appeared hesitant at the order. The man, Noir, was still a suspect. This made him dangerous.

However, when they considered that the entire area was filled with incredible Magic Practitioners, the guards decided to obey.

Well, it wasn't like that had much of a choice anyway.

As soon as they released Noir from his shackles and disabled the golden light, Noir muttered a few words under his breath, indicating a chant.

Instantly, a purple light shone, indicating the activation of Tier 7 magic. The audience was shocked beyond words. A Tier 7 Mage was enough to be a high-ranking lecturer In the institute, yet Noir was a mere bodyguard.

His chanting didn't appear strained but natural. In a few seconds, he was able to create a screen projection, large enough for everyone in the room to see.

Everyone instantly stared at the screen, seeing an occurrence within it.

Noir smiled internally, seeing as they were all in awe of him.

"T-this is..." Julian muttered upon seeing the footage.

Of course, Noir had altered it to suit his taste, so everything they saw was only partly real. Noir removed the part where the shady man had Richard's appearance, and also edited their conversation to make it seem as though Noir was questioning him about his intentions within the Institute.

"Hehe, I suppose I'll have to add one more body to the amount I've disposed of tonight!" The shady man said, sending a message into the hearts of everyone who watched.

Of course, this was never said originally, but thanks to Noir's manipulation it appeared as though that was what happened.

Due to this, suspicion shifted from Noir to the shady man.

"He... he must be the true perpetrator!"

"I wonder what happened to him at the end?"

"He's so disgusting!"

"He is strong, though!"

They all watched Noir fight the man even while under the debuff effect of the Tier 9 barrier.

This made everyone respect the previously labeled criminal. At the end of the video, Noir was seen to nearly kill the man, piercing him and rendering him immobile when the glitch appeared.

Noir didn't edit anything from this moment on. The reason he did this was to spot the reactions of everyone present.

'If there's anyone here with a connection to that, or who has seen it before... I'll get to know now!' Noir reasoned.

Unfortunately, none of them seemed to recognize it. They all watched in awe and disappointment when the Shady man escaped.

"Damnit!"

"He was so close!"

"Just a little more and he would have-"

The former accusers were now in regret that Noir hadn't finished the job.

The projection ended, and the screen buzzed before disappearing.

The moment it was done, Noir was supposed to be cuffed once again, and bound within the cubicle where he was kept. However, the guards were now reluctant to do so.

Yes, after seeing everything that happened, Noir was clearly not in the wrong. In fact, he appeared to be fighting for the Institute as well.

If they were to show him more discourtesy... then the blame would be wholly theirs.

"Now that I think of it, if he's this powerful... then he could have prevented being arrested.'

'Yeah. And he was also very docile within his cell...'

'Could it be... we've been testing him wrongly all this while'

Everyone began feeling bad for making such a good-natured man suffer at their hands... just as Noir wanted.

'As expected. All I had to do was throw a few things at them, and they give assured reactions. Such simple-minded people... this is too easy.' He mused.

Trevor was simply awestruck. He had expected a good argument from Noir, but this exceeded anything he predicted.

Not only had Noir proved his innocence, but he also managed to bring the general opinion to his side.

Trevor realized he needed to be even warier of Noir.

"I see. It appears we were wrong about you, Mr. Noir. While you are guilty of illegal entry into the institute, you had justifiable grounds to do so. In essence, you've been absolved of any crime you were accused of." Julian stated.

The other judges nodded in agreement.

"You are now free to—"

"That's it?" Before the head judge could say any more, Noir interrupted.

Noir's voice startled everyone. His eyes and expressions changed. Clearly, things weren't going to end so easily.