“Perhaps, you’re right.”
“Indeed. That was a sufficient answer.”
So, it was as expected.
Luke nodded.
If he was the main perpetrator behind the recent disappearance cases…
Sure enough, it seemed that he hadn’t obtained all these corpses by digging them up from the ground.
Luke realized the reason why among the corpses, there were some that had only recently died, and were of ‘high quality.’
Had he directly abducted or murdered living humans to use in necromancy?
He must really be an out-of-control black magician.
‘Using such methods in this day and age…’
Of course, it was a horrifying deed, but to Luke, this wasn’t a matter of morality.
In this era, with all sorts of bizarre methods available for tracking someone who uses magic—like the traces of magic power left at the scene, surveillance cameras, or magic detection systems—it’s no easy feat to kidnap people without drawing the police’s attention.
Since he must have used black magic, which required abductions, it would have been difficult to find a place in Eires suitable for committing such crimes.
From this premise, the most plausible assumption Luke could come up with was that he had mainly committed these crimes in the ‘back alleys’ of Eires.
Evidence for this could be found in a past conversation with Siena.
“It’s quite dark here even at this hour. I didn’t know such places existed.”
Siena, a police officer, didn’t know about this place.
This meant that the back alleys were not well-known even to the police.
This was enough to imply that it was a place where the reach of investigation efforts didn’t extend.
Although the logical leap was significant, speculations often require such leaps.
If it turns out to be inaccurate, adjustments can be made later.
‘Perhaps, it would be a good idea to consult Third, who knows about the back alleys, sometime later.’
With that conclusion, Luke looked at Seyeo.
Seyeo seemed quite pleased after answering Luke’s question.
“So, is it my turn again?”
His expression, saying so, was so cheerful that if someone unaware of his true nature—a wicked necromancer and black magician—were to see it, they might ask if something good had happened.
This reminded one again that judging someone merely by their outward appearance shouldn’t be done.
It would be good if Pyris realized this fact soon.
Looking evil doesn’t mean one is necessarily evil, nor does appearing goodhearted mean one is truly so.
What matters is the actions and mindset that manifest on the surface.
Well, aside from the incident at the ‘facility,’ Pyris was correct in the end; but for other cases, there is nothing that can be done about it.
Pyris, who can read emotions as a spirit, blindly trusts that information, causing her to hold biases and distinguish people simply as either good or evil.
As spirits can’t fully comprehend human minds and the standards of human morality vary, misunderstandings arise.
Human emotions, thoughts, intentions, and actions do not always align.
As an extreme example, just because someone feels joy and happiness while committing murder doesn’t mean that act should be considered good, nor should offering food to a needy neighbor while feeling regret be judged as evil.
Of course, Py wouldn’t have any defense in this case.
Having finished his thoughts about Py, Luke nodded.
It was an acknowledgment that he would allow the question.
“Alright!”
Seyeo began murmuring to himself for a while.
“Hmm, what should I ask? How you came to hold such value? Or maybe, where you got this stuffed bear? Haha! Too many things are making me curious!”
Seyeo seemed unable to decide easily on what to ask, overwhelmed by curiosity.
But even as he pondered, the corpses were gradually resting anew under Lusi’s command, holding stones.
Luke, watching the decreasing number of corpses resurrected by Seyeo, spoke.
“Well, I don’t mind you taking your time thinking, but if you keep dragging on, you might lose the chance to ask me questions forever.”
“Aah, that’s true. I can’t do that, then.”
Encouraged by Luke’s implicit urging, Seyeo nodded and finally posed his question.
“Did you kill Dilent?”
“…”
It was Luke’s turn to be silent.
He never expected that.
He was startled, perhaps.
Even without an answer, the silence that followed was sufficient response.
Even if he severed the contract, it would remain the same answer.
It was a surefire situation.
Luke frowned, and watching this, Seyeo chuckled.
“Figures.”
‘Speculations must accompany some leaps of logic.’
Seyeo also knew this saying—it was one among the many aphorisms of Luke Ilsui.
However, Seyeo did not think his inference was too far-fetched.
The ten-year-old girl had magical knowledge and abilities far beyond her age.
It is too unusual to attribute this merely to her being intelligent.
It’s a condition where logic cannot stand without leaps.
No matter how much a prodigy, there are limits.
There are no children who can maintain such calmness around numerous corpses.
This was a story unrelated to intelligence.
Even a soldier who underwent the toughest and blood-soaked training would get nervous the first time deployed.
Even an athlete who trained intensely also fails to perform well in the initial few minutes due to tension.
But the girl showed indifference as if she knew what would happen, with a demeanor just like seeing a stone rolling on the ground.
It was too natural to be feigned.
If someone were to ask, out of the innocent appearance she initially showed or the look she had when she learned he was a black magician, which one seemed genuine, they would undoubtedly choose the latter without a moment’s delay.
This was a far more difficult area to simulate.
That response was something not possible from a ten-year-old with little experience; that’s for sure.
There must be a tremendous amount of experience.
“Ah, I see.”
Seyeo nodded.
Everything became crystal clear.
“Ten years old and yet possesses remarkable magical knowledge and thinking, along with top-level acting skills, countless combat experiences, unusual looks, and a doll… All these conditions.”
Seyeo could easily recall one name after evaluating everything.
Merlin, the Death Puppeteer.
‘Maybe this child is her creation.’
She wasn’t particularly on good terms with Dilent to begin with.
Although not many people were close to him in the first place.
In any case, if Dilent was murdered by someone, Seyeo considered that she was likely the one.
—
While Seyeo continued with his conjectures connecting to another individual, Luke couldn’t help but tense up.
‘A black magician familiar with Dilent?’
Dilent may not have been a remarkable person, but the artifact he possessed was different.
Yerna, the talented forest keeper, who could take down a Cyclops alone, received significant injuries from that artifact, and due to its malfunction, a rift appeared in the dimension, which allowed Sigarmata to manifest in reality.
Unavoidably, one couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Perhaps Seyeo was somehow connected to the black magic-produced Dragon Heart artifact witnessed at that time.
If that’s the case, there might be a possibility that Seyeo also owns a similar artifact.
If that were true, Luke couldn’t exactly consider himself in a perfect advantageous position.
Maybe that’s why he has been so nonchalantly confident.
If this assumption holds true, Liv alone might struggle to handle him.
In the worst case, capturing him might prove quite challenging.
Luke, having eased some stress, asked Seyeo.
“What’s your connection to Dilent?”
“Dilent? Hmm, how should I explain it? If I were a merchant, I might call him a customer.”
Answering, Seyeo straightened his glasses and grinned.
“Now we know each other’s general situation, so let’s get down to business.”
-Snap.
-Thud, Thud.
As Seyeo snapped his fingers, the corpses still standing swayed and collapsed to the ground, as if losing all strength.
“…?”
Seeing the sudden collapse of corpses that weren’t attacked, Liv was bewildered and turned to look at Luke.
Luke wore a look of astonishment.
This expression seemed satisfactory to Seyeo, who smiled.
“That magic…! Could it be… Forced Sacrifice?”
Forced Sacrifice.
It was a dark magic that forcibly made others’ value a subject of trade.
“You surprise me. I didn’t expect you to know even this.”
As Seyeo spoke, suddenly a black flame rose up, consuming the fallen corpses as firewood.
It seemed as if the matter itself was transforming into fire.
The flame that arose, consuming spirit and flesh, began to gravitate towards Seyeo.
A flame that devoured light, it was the quintessence of dark magic, which caused permanent obliteration of all value from this world every time it was used.
Seyeo, contentedly observing the black flames swirling around his body, sighed while looking at Luke.
“I didn’t want to go this far, you know.”
But it cannot be helped.
Now that he knows about Merlin, he must relay that information to ‘us,’ and to do that, he needs to leave here.
Also, while the efficiency of these black flames isn’t great, they can still extract a certain amount of value.
In any case, this child possesses a vast amount of value that dazzles the eyes.
Merlin must have invested quite a bit into this child, it seems.
Has her skill improved to an incredible level while I wasn’t looking?
Truly, how will this value burn?
Seyeo, pointing a hand at Luke, spoke.
“Therefore, everything would have been easier if you didn’t resist from the start.”
Whoosh!
“Uhh, aaah… Ahhh!!”
The child’s scream of terror enveloped in black flame echoed through the dark forest.
“…is what you might believe?”
Just as the child, enveloped in flames, screamed and struggled, on the verge of falling to her knees, she abruptly halted her movements and cries before standing composed.
“Hmm?”
It was a scene Seyeo could not comprehend.
This flame was a form of deconstruction—it burned all value to use as nourishment.
This flame, which consumed not just matter but life and soul alike…
“Indeed, it seems the great you also can wield the black flame.”
Luke was unscathed, not even a single charred hair.
“How?”
Luke didn’t exhibit any magical movements.
How could he possibly stand there unharmed?
It was an utterly incomprehensible situation.
“Ah, that’s right. Now it’s your turn to ask questions, isn’t it?”
As Seyeo’s expression twisted, Luke smirked and said,
“As a fellow seeker of knowledge, might you personally inform me why your curse does not affect me?”
Luke, gathering the black flames swirling around his body to his fingertips, continued.
“This flame rises using life as tinder, and sustains itself by burning the value of whatever it touches.”
However, contradicting Luke’s explanation, the black flame grew paler and eventually turned white before flickering like mist.
So tenuous was it that it couldn’t even ignite a dry leaf.
Finally, the shaky white flame dispersed like smoke and vanished.
“But there’s nothing for this flame to burn in me.”
“No way!”
As Seyeo shouted in disbelief, Luke looked at his fingertips where the black flames had lingered and continued.
“At first glance, it seems to have immense value, but the lifespan of one who cannot die truly holds no value.”
Luke smiled at the dumbfounded Seyeo.
“How about that? Is it a sufficient answer for the dead?”
[!– Slider main container –]
