Chapter 137

Quickly flying axe.

Diplyn instinctively sensed danger.

And at that moment.

Fwaaa!

One of the six rings on her finger emitted a bright light. After that, her body was enveloped in a beam of light and teleported diagonally.

A consumable made for emergencies.

A ring that automatically activates short-range teleportation magic when the wearer is in danger. Once it fulfilled its purpose, the ring shattered into nothingness.

‘I thought I was a goner!’

After barely dodging the axe, Diplyn wiped her startled chest.

Even though she felt a murderous intent, she never imagined someone would just throw an axe at her. Just then, a sudden pain hit her forehead.

‘Huh? What’s this?’

The moment she unconsciously touched her forehead, peach-colored hair fluttered down.

Her bangs were neatly cut. It wasn’t just that; there was blood on her hand that had touched her forehead.

“……!”

With a stinging pain, she felt the wound from being grazed by Ulan’s axe. It meant she hadn’t completely avoided the blow.

‘If the ring had activated just one second later…’

Her head would probably have been severed.

Diplyn swallowed hard.

Feeling a chill run down her spine, she instinctively yelled.

“What the heck are you doing?!”

“That’s what I want to ask you.”

Then someone interrupted.

Furious golden eyes.

It was Delia Arpen, the princess of the Arpen Duchy, who had once taught Diplyn magic.

“No, what are you…”

“Are you going to deny it until the end?”

“I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about!”

Diplyn frowned in exasperation.

Meanwhile, Delia’s eyes grew even colder.

Of course, they would. With the watcher’s eyes, she had seen everything Diplyn had done.

“How brazen can you get?”

With a gaze that exuded frosty air, Diplyn was about to confess everything she had done when suddenly Ulan stopped Delia.

“That’s enough.”

“Ulan? Why…”

“There’s no need to waste time talking to someone who will be a corpse soon.”

His tone was dry.

In that moment, the glimmer of murderous intent in his eyes made her shiver!

‘He really intends to kill me?!’

Had she really done something that warranted death?

Diplyn reflected on her actions.

However, no matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t find anything that seemed too heinous, so she protested with an expression of grievance.

“Seriously, what’s going on?! You must have a reason for doing this!”

“A reason?”

“Yes! A reason! Why are you…”

“What reason is needed to sever the neck of an Abyss Worshipper?”

His voice was as cold as ice.

And the moment the term Abyss Worshipper came up, Diplyn finally grasped the situation.

‘So it was Delia who used the Eyes of the Watchers, not Count Dermore?’

Diplyn’s eyes widened slightly.

In that case, it made sense that Ulan and Delia were showing hostility toward her.

They had once been attacked by Abyss Worshippers and now, because of the rift in the Abyss, they had fought against the minions.

‘But it’s still okay.’

Because they had no evidence.

So claiming innocence based on that was all she had to do. Plus, with the next saintess present, she might just get away with it.

After getting her thoughts straight.

Diplyn replied with a brazen face.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“What?”

“I only came here upon a request to search for missing students.”

Of course, she was also curious about what happened to the monsters that emerged from the rift, but the original reason was exactly what she just claimed.

“But suddenly calling me an Abyss Worshipper and throwing axes at me is honestly quite surprising. I mean, there’s no evidence, right?”

“Evidence?”

“Yeah! It’s a problem if you do all this without definitive proof that I’m an Abyss Worshipper…”

When she was trying to gain momentum and pressure Ulan, he tilted his head in confusion.

“Why would I need evidence?”

“……Huh?”

“If I chop off your head and the rift in the Abyss doesn’t open, that’s all the evidence I need.”

So there was no need to prove it.

Ulan said that with a truly ignorant and barbaric answer. Diplyn’s expression turned blank.

Just then, Ulan moved again.

Releasing a strong aura that weighed down on her. Diplyn, coming back to her senses, took a timid step back.

‘This won’t work.’

For now, she had to retreat.

That man seemed like he wouldn’t even consider hearing her words. So she created some distance while maintaining a certain gap from Ulan.

To secretly prepare her return magic.

But just before the spell was completed.

Crrack! Boom!

Suddenly, the spell shattered uselessly.

It was an entirely unforeseen situation.

When her amethyst eyes were shaken.

“It’s pointless.”

A familiar voice came from behind Ulan.

A girl with pitch-black hair.

Her face was recognizable.

It was Noa Darshen, the sorcerer who once fought evenly against Diplyn during the selection match.

When Diplyn recalled her name, Noa smiled at her.

“I had a feeling you might try to run away, so I took some steps. That’s why you won’t be able to use that magic for a while.”

Noa’s words rang true.

After the teleportation spell was destroyed, she tried to prepare her magic again, but for some strange reason, she couldn’t complete the incantation.

Diplyn bit her lips tightly.

She was indeed cornered.

With a frantic expression, she reached out toward the approaching Ulan.

“I’m the dean of the Magic Department!”

“And?”

“I’m a High Mage affiliated with the Magic Tower!”

“So what?”

Ulan repeatedly asked like a parrot.

Diplyn was getting frustrated.

After coming this far, one would expect him to understand the basic meanings of words, but it was as if they weren’t getting through at all.

After letting out a low sigh.

She warned him.

“If you lay a hand on me, the Magic Tower will…”

“I don’t care.”

“W-what?”

“If it’s a place that supports the Abyss and Abyss Worshippers, then anyone is my enemy.”

Even if it’s the empire.

After that firm statement, Ulan suddenly vanished from her sight. As if he had evaporated like smoke. As soon as she noticed the change, Diplyn widened her eyes.

‘The Master’s Domain!’

But she wasn’t surprised that Ulan had used the Master’s Domain. Diplyn already knew he was a Master.

The real issue was the range of the domain.

After all, there had been almost a forty-step distance between her and Ulan.

‘Forty steps?!’

That was the same range as the Sword of the Imperial Family, known as the strongest in the empire. How could a seventeen-year-old barbarian wield such a range?

‘This is insane!’

As she was taken aback by the surreal scene.

Woosh!

The sound of slicing through the wind resonated. An axe flying straight for her neck.

But once again, the axe failed to reach its target. It was because Diplyn’s ring teleported her to safety.

Just then.

Tap!

Something dropped where Diplyn had been standing.

A sharp piece of flesh. It was part of her ear.

Ulan clicked his tongue at the sight.

“You’re lucky.”

This time, having prepared to flee like before, he had used the Transcendent Domain, and yet all that happened was her ear getting cut off.

Meanwhile, at that moment.

Having been attacked, Diplyn completely vanished without a trace. However, there was no need to worry.

Ulan was also skilled in tracking.

“Seeker.”

His senses peaked in an instant.

As his awareness broadened, he could even hear the sound of the gentlest breeze. It would be a breeze to find the sound of Diplyn’s footsteps.

“She went that way.”

Ulan turned his head.

The direction of his gaze was opposite from where the Abyssal Rift was. A place that gave off a sense of unease.

“Zone 4.”

Noa replied with a stiff expression.

One could understand why.

She knew very well what happened when she entered Zone 4.

On the other hand, Ulan spoke nonchalantly.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

Ivella stood by his side.

Having boosted her magic power, she was certain she would be of help to Ulan now.

But just then, Noa shook her head.

“No, you shouldn’t go.”

“What?”

“If we go, we’ll just be baggage.”

With a face filled with conviction, Noa answered.

At that moment, the quiet Delia chimed in.

“Noa is right.”

“No, what are you saying?”

“Think about the characteristics of Zone 4.”

After Delia finished her statement.

Ivella suddenly recalled the effects of each zone that Professor Miel had explained while visiting the Source of Magic.

From Zone 1 to Zone 5.

When explaining the characteristics of each zone, Professor Miel had said this about Zone 4.

“In Zone 4, using magic will definitely cause magic overload. That applies even to the Mana Sword of knights.”

In other words, it meant that even a slight movement of magic within the body would immediately result in magic overload.

After that thought crossed her mind.

“…….”

Ivella shut her mouth tightly.

Ian and Laurea felt the same. It was as if they realized the meaning of what Delia had called “baggage.”

As silence fell over the room.

Ulan finally spoke.

“I don’t care if I’m alone.”

“Ulan…”

“Then I’ll be off.”

Just as he finished his response.

White Wolf, who had been silent, approached and presented his back.

Ulan naturally leaped onto him and soon finished preparing to depart.

“Be careful. Don’t overdo it.”

“If it gets dangerous, just come back anytime.”

With their worried farewells behind him.

Ulan and White Wolf immediately bound for the ground.

To pursue the Abyss Worshipper, Diplyn, who had fled into Zone 4.

That night.

Meanwhile, fleeing from Ulan, Diplyn raced through Zone 4 with a pained expression.

“Huf! Huuff!”

Breath had come up to her chin in no time.

Though, what was more agonizing was something else.

It was her left ear that had been severed. Running without even caring to stop the bleeding, she soon halted.

“Haah, Haah!”

To catch her breath, she needed to gather herself. After that, she looked around the somewhat dim surroundings.

‘……Zone 4.’

Except for the center of the pond, the most dangerous part of the Source of Magic. Moreover, one couldn’t recklessly use magic here.

Doing so would lead to a magic overload, putting them in ruins.

For a magician like Diplyn, it was truly a death zone.

‘But this was the best option.’

If she had fled the other way, she would have been caught before long. Ulan’s domain ranged about forty steps, after all.

In that sense, Zone 4 was fair.

In this zone, even Ulan couldn’t use magic or spirits. In other words, that meant he couldn’t use the Master’s Domain.

“Though that doesn’t mean…”

Diplyn wasn’t in a favorable position either.

She had run out of stamina, while Ulan was an experienced warrior. Yet it was indeed for a good reason she made that choice.

‘Because I can use artifacts.’

The artifacts she had made herself would activate without using magic as long as the activation conditions were met.

Which implied she could use magic here as well.

And right now, Diplyn had thirty-eight artifacts on her. Among them were several that were above grade seven.

But there was one thing she specifically lacked.

‘I should’ve brought the Return Stone…’

She had naively assumed she could use return magic and had not brought it, which was her sole mistake.

If only she had the Return Stone, she could have fled without needing to come into Zone 4.

‘But there’s still hope.’

By now, she must have created quite a gap.

So she just had to dig a trap and wait for Ulan or capture Noa or Delia as hostages.

But at that moment.

Woosh!

She heard a sound like the buzzing of a wasp’s wings.

It was the same sound she had heard earlier.

The sound of an axe slicing through the air.

“……!”

In shock, she opened her eyes wide.

Once again, her body was enveloped in a beam of light and teleported diagonally. Fortunately, she had not entered Ulan’s domain, so she was unharmed.

But her startled heart wasn’t calming down.

It was because of the figure of Ulan appearing before her.

“W-what? How are you already—”

She thought she had managed to create a fair distance.

The reason for this would soon be revealed. It was thanks to White Wolf, the wolf Ulan was riding.

Having grasped the situation, she attempted to move back, but Ulan’s attacks came again.

Woosh! Whoooooosh!

Axe flew threateningly at her.

With each passing moment, the number of rings on her fingers decreased. Eventually, when only one ring remained.

“H-Hold on!”

“……”

“I’m going to propose a deal!”

“A deal?”

“Yes! Just let me go, and I’ll tell you the location of the Abyss Worshippers’ gathering place. How about it?”

That was certainly an enticing condition.

If they let go of Diplyn, they were getting an opportunity to annihilate the Abyss Worshippers all at once.

But Ulan shook his head.

“No need.”

“W-why not?!”

He already knew.

He knew where the Abyss Worshippers gathered, and he also knew who led them.

However, he simply wasn’t ready yet. He was waiting until the Abyss Worshippers scattered across the nations gathered in one place.

Gripping the axe again, Ulan held it tight in his hands.

Then Diplyn hurriedly shouted.

“W-what about Delia?!”

“Delia?”

For an instant, the axe stopped in the air.

Viewing this as being interested, Diplyn quickly put on a bright expression.

“Delia has a half-sister. Right now, she’s a failed mage, but…”

He was already aware of it.

He knew that it was Diplyn who had taught Delia’s half-sister magic.

Just then, Diplyn said something surprising.

“I can solve that problem.”

“……What?”

“Because I was the one who taught that girl magic. So even if no one else can, I definitely have a way to heal her.”

It didn’t seem like she was lying.

If that were true, it meant she genuinely knew how to heal Delia’s half-sister.

“Probably, as long as there’s a way to treat her, you’ll be able to handle Delia however you want. That girl would do anything to save her sister.”

“……”

“Originally, I had planned to use it for myself, but if you agree to my proposal, I’ll give it to you right away. I swear on my mana!”

Diplyn said with a bright smile.

Watching that face, Ulan suddenly recalled a trash that wasn’t here.

‘Himel Deorg.’

The coward who tarnished Ivella’s honor.

No, she was worse than that.

According to Diplyn’s words, she had a way to cure Delia’s half-sister but had deliberately left her to suffer until now.

And as a result.

In her past life, Delia’s sister had died in pain. Delia was also suffering immensely.

Recalling that memory, Ulan pressed his lips together.

Meanwhile, whether she realized it or not, Diplyn continued to make offers.

“What do you think? With these conditions…”

“Diplyn Cernio.”

At that moment, Ulan interrupted her.

His expression was serious.

“Have you ever seen a hunter negotiate with their prey over life and death?”

“W-What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“Hunters do not negotiate with their prey.”

There was no need for negotiations.

They just had to hunt, that was all.

“It’s the same for my tribe.”

“What you’re saying is…”

“Especially when the other party is an enemy, there will never be a successful deal. Even if the thing you want is in the hands of the opponent.”

After a brief moment of silence.

Ulan gripped his axe again and growled ferociously.

“If I want something, I just plunder it.”

“……!”

“That’s the way of the barbarians.”

With this signal of a severed deal, the furious axe flew toward her.

Flash!

But once again, she disappeared enveloped in light. Of course, this teleport would be her last. There were no rings left for her now.

“Phew, as expected, it turned out this way.”

But surprisingly, she didn’t seem flustered at all.

Of course, she had anticipated that the deal would fall apart.

After all, even initiating the conversation under the pretense of a deal was all part of her scheme. She had some preparations to activate the artifacts.

And now.

All her preparations were complete.

“Then, I will do it my way.”

Diplyn had never liked making enemies. It just made everything troublesome. But if an enemy did truly need to be made?

The answer was simple. She would just eliminate them entirely, leaving no future troubles behind.

“Goodbye, Ulan.”

With a brief farewell, a total of thirty-eight artifacts activated all at once. An overwhelming wave of magic poured down on Ulan and White Wolf.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A bombardment of magic rained down.

Each spell was laced with murderous intent.

‘No matter how much of a Master you are, you won’t be able to survive without activating the Master’s Domain.’

Diplyn was fully convinced of that.

But her confidence was quickly shattered.

“……Huh?”

As the smoke cleared, the scene revealed Ulan standing there without a scratch. Because what stood before her transcended the common understanding she had.

“W-What? How…?”

No response came.

What returned was nothing but the furious axe.

In an instant, Ulan closed the distance, swinging his twin axes before she could even react.

Slice! Crack!

The sound of tearing flesh and breaking bone.

“────!”

An indescribable surge of pain. With a horrid scream, Diplyn crumbled like a sandcastle.

She had no choice. Ulan’s axe had cleanly severed both her arms and legs.

“Uugh! Uwaeck!”

Scarlet blood gushed from her mouth.

Even the severed stumps continued to ooze blood. Covered in blood, Diplyn quickly began to lose her vitality.

“Cough, cough!”

This was a situation where death was imminent.

And that was entirely understandable.

Because from the moment she fought against Ulan, who possessed the Demon Slayer’s axe, she had no chance of winning.

Meanwhile, at that moment.

Feeling her last breath approaching, Diplyn looked slowly at Ulan with fading eyes. After which, she spoke hesitantly.

“……C-Can I ask you one last thing?”

“What is it?”

“How did you come to possess two vessels for mana?”

The curiosity in her lavender eyes shone brightly.

This was the question she had wanted to know since the moment she laid her eyes on Ulan. She desperately wanted to hear the truth about this.

However, Ulan seemed flabbergasted.

“Vessel?”

“……Don’t play dumb.”

Diplyn had revealed she knew he possessed two vessels for mana.

But upon hearing the story, Ulan frowned.

“It seems like you must be mistaken.”

“Are you still going to deny it?”

“I swear on the name of my warrior; I do not know magic.”

“……What?”

Her gaze trembled violently for an instant.

Diplyn retorted in disbelief.

“Then what was that…?”

And that was her last utterance.

Because Ulan swung the axe again.

Thwack! Slice!

Her head severed from the body.

Soon after, he diced the remaining body parts to pieces to prevent any chance of her coming back to life.

‘Because there were those who came back to life occasionally.’

To completely prevent that, simply separating the head wasn’t enough. He had to shred the entire being to ensure it.

Not long after.

Ulan’s axe swung until Diplyn’s body was no longer recognizable.

Finally, he turned around.

Having achieved his objective, he had no reason to linger any longer. Just as he prepared to head back to his group.

He halted!

In an instant, his foot stopped.

He felt a familiar presence.

‘……The Power of the Abyss.’

His gaze fell upon Zone 5.

The center of the Source of Magic and the very place where the Gate of the Abyss would later open. A location that had been said to be off-limits for the last three hundred years.

However, he couldn’t go beyond it.

“What is this?”

A transparent wall blocked his path.

He swung his twin axes, but the transparent wall didn’t budge at all. Even after several more attempts, Ulan eventually turned away.

“I’ll have to look into this later.”

Otherwise, he could just ask Noa about it.

She seemed to know the secrets that Ulan didn’t.

Having made that judgment, Ulan headed straight back to Zone 3.

The Swamp Ruler, Parus.

The Abyss Worshipper, Diplyn Cernio.

That day, two enemies were taken down.

All the incidents that had occurred at the Source of Magic finally came to an end. And the next day, the weekend arrived at Arsen Academy.

It was the day Ulan, Noa, and Laurea promised to meet and discuss.

Intermission. The Seeds of Disaster.

1.

The phenomenon that occurred at the Source of Magic.

Following the Abyssal Erosion, the depletion of magic power spurred a surge of magicians, causing investigations to be halted immediately.

It wasn’t just that.

The leader of the investigative team, Count Dermore, had gone missing. Additionally, six students had also disappeared without a trace.

However, this serious situation was short-lived.

Half a day later, all the missing students returned safely. They claimed they had wandered into Zone 3 while lost.

Additionally, Count Dermore had also returned on his own, thus bringing the disappearance incident to a close.

Everyone thought so.

Until they realized that Diplyn Cernio, who had entered the Source of Magic for the search, hadn’t come back.

Once this fact was recognized, a search team led by the special operations division was organized to track Diplyn’s whereabouts. And as of now, the search was still ongoing.

“This concludes the report from the investigative team.”

At the Imperial Castle of the Rubens Empire.

Crown Prince Chartang’s aide, Saxen, finished a lengthy report. Meanwhile, Chartang’s brows twitched upon receiving the information.

“This is a bit unexpected.”

His pretty brow creased slightly.

“I was aware that the Source of Magic was referred to as a Demon Realm, but I never thought it was dangerous enough to lose even a High Mage.”

Especially since Diplyn was its caretaker.

As a veteran who managed the Source of Magic for years and handled various incidents, how could someone like that go missing in such a place?

Chartang swallowed a low groan.

“Is there any other report?”

“Yes. Apart from the investigation team’s report, Count Dermore sent a letter.”

“A letter? What’s it about?”

“The phenomena at the Source of Magic are said to have considerable magical value for research and require further investigation.”

Research value, you say?

Chartang’s expression turned puzzled.

What use would it serve to research a phenomenon that swiftly depletes magical power?

While wrinkling his brow at that thought.

“……Wait a moment.”

Suddenly, his reddish-brown eyes narrowed.

He had a sudden suspicion that brushed past him. Soon after, he turned to Saxen and asked.

“Could it be for military use?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

If it were possible to artificially generate this phenomenon, they could incapacitate enemy magicians all at once.

“That’s why he requested the authority to freely traverse the Source of Magic.”

“Authority, you say…”

“Moreover, he stated that this research would significantly assist His Majesty if successful.”

Chartang’s eyes turned narrow.

Because it meant the research would be beneficial to him, not the empire. It sounded as if he were stepping out of neutrality and expressing a willingness to support him.

“In that case, I should meet him.”

To check whether his suspicions were correct, or more importantly, to ascertain Count Dermore’s true intentions.

“Yes, I will send an invitation right away.”

Saxen quietly bowed his head.

After hastily finishing the task, Chartang arrived near the destination before long.

It was a modest forest located at the northern edge of the imperial palace.

Upon passing through the thick thickets, เขา desceded upon the central part of the forest with a pond.

Just as he arrived there, a familiar voice rang in his ears.

“Welcome, brother.”

A melodious voice as sweet as a song.

The owner of that voice was a girl with hair as white as snow.

Emitting an ethereal aura, Chartang met the gaze of his sister, smiling softly as if his stern expression had never existed.

“It’s been a while, Fertisha.”

She was his younger sister, the seventh princess.

Fertisha Eve Al Rubens.

At the same time, this was the only place where Chartang could be at ease.

After exchanging brief pleasantries, Fertisha grinned.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll prepare some tea.”

She answered with a bright smile and took out tea cups.

But there were only three cups. There were no tools to boil water anywhere in sight.

At that moment, something amazing occurred.

Clear water began to form in the empty air, soon floating up.

But it didn’t end there.

Soon, the water began to boil vigorously.

Then, as if a breeze hadn’t blown inside, the tea leaves were sucked in, and the boiling water gradually turned red.

‘Spirit Art.’

Only half-human half-spirit beings like Fertisha could use such magical power.

Her abilities were always mystical.

“It’s hot, so take your time drinking.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

After taking a sip of the warm tea.

Chartang and Fertisha exchanged brief updates about their lives. Then, the conversation shifted towards Fertisha.

“By the way, you’re leaving soon, right?”

“Hehe, yes! That’s right.”

Transition into Arsen Academy.

She had prepared everything she needed.

Clothes to wear and items to use while staying at the academy were perfectly arranged. Moreover, she even fully focused on establishing a false identity.

On the surface, Fertisha was a nonexistent member of royalty. Yet even if it was a false identity, she absolutely must not be treated with disdain.

After endless consideration, she finally decided on her alias.

“Tisha Lapis.”

The name was simply cut in half, and her surname was taken from the family name of a knight, Rimer Yen Lapis, who had pledged allegiance to Chartang.

‘The Lapis Marquisate shouldn’t be looked down upon at Arsen Academy.’

Chartang made that judgment.

Moreover, there was one more point.

Someone who knew Fertisha’s true identity existed at the academy. That was none other than Berge Arkazan, the head of the Military Department.

‘So if anything happens…’

Berge would take good care of her, as he knew very well how much Chartang cared for Fertisha.

Once the conversation came to a close.

Suddenly, something caught Chartang’s attention.

It was the wooden owl figurine that Fertisha had been fiddling with all this time.

“Hmm? What’s that? I haven’t seen it before.”

“Oh! This is…”

“Did you carve it yourself?”

“No, it’s something I received as a gift during my last outing to the capital.”

Fertisha smiled shyly.

As she hugged it as if it were a great treasure.

Upon hearing the word “gift,” Chartang naturally thought of Rimer.

One of the Five Blades of the Empire and the knight who had escorted Fertisha on her outing to the capital.

‘As expected of Sir Rimer, but his choice of gifts must be lacking.’

Surely a jewel-adorned figurine would have sufficed, yet he had given her such a crude trinket.

Chartang clicked his tongue internally.

However, he didn’t show it on his face. After all, Fertisha seemed to genuinely like it.

“Now that I think about it, the day you leave is drawing near. The palace will become quite lonely.”

“Don’t worry! Even when I attend the academy, I’ll write you letters every day.”

“Haha, just the thought is enough.”

Chartang chuckled.

Afterward, the two continued their conversation until dusk fell and evening approached.

2.

And that night.

In the Dermore Count’s mansion.

On a particularly stormy night, the Count headed for the laboratory established in the basement of the mansion. After opening the iron door and stepping inside.

Clank!

He firmly locked the door behind him.

Then using magic, he thoroughly sealed it so that no one could enter.

As he arrived in the center of the laboratory.

There was something resembling an altar laid out, and on top of it lay a golden-haired girl.

She seemed around sixteen years old.

The girl, with an innocent face, lay motionless as though she had lost consciousness. Just as the Count silently looked down at her, a strange voice seeped through the darkness of the basement.

“You’ve finally arrived.”

A voice so unsettling that merely hearing it sent chills down his spine.

Moments later, the whisper continued.

“This means all the materials are gathered.”

“Let’s begin the ceremony.”

As the whisper ended, the Count nodded as he seemed ready.

At that very moment, the darkness in the basement began to stir, and soon it enveloped the girl’s body. Moments later, a bluish spirit flowed from her.

“……”

The Count knew what it was.

It was none other than a human soul.

The soul forcibly extracted thrashed about wildly as if trying to escape. But it was nothing more than floundering in futility.

Swallow!

In an instant, the darkness devoured the soul.

As the Count watched that scene, he approached the girl as if he had been waiting.

Then, he took out a small sphere from his bosom.

“Huff.”

Letting out a short sigh as a signal.

As he rubbed the sphere, green smoke began to seep out. It was the same as the soul that had been swallowed by the darkness earlier.

The soul freed into the world outside attempted to scatter into the air.

However, at that moment.

The undulating darkness grasped the soul that was trying to escape. Witnessing that scene, the Count flinched and shivered.

“Do not be afraid, magician.”

“Your wishes will be fulfilled.”

Once again, the whisper echoed in his ears.

The darkness shoved the soul into the girl’s body on the altar instead of consuming it.

Yet things weren’t easy.

The soul kept trying to escape.

Then, at that moment, the darkness surged like a wave, sealing the soul and the body of the golden-haired girl perfectly.

Simultaneously, a phenomenon occurred.

Amid the darkness enveloping the laboratory, numerous eyes sprouted forth. Those eyes stirred noisily and fixated their gazes on the altar.

Shortly after.

Slurp! Slurp!

As the darkness retreated like a tide, the body of the girl on the altar began to tremble.

“Ahh, uuh.”

Groans fell with cold sweat.

Before long, she opened her eyes.

Her hazy eyes slowly focused.

Reflexively surveying her surroundings, the girl soon spotted the Count and spoke up.

“……Father?”

“Y- Yurfe.”

The Count’s voice trembled with emotion.

Meanwhile, after discovering the Count, the girl furrowed her brows in confusion and asked back.

“Why are you crying?”

Just as she said, the Count was indeed weeping.

Tears streamed down his cheeks.

He couldn’t even think of wiping them away as he replied in a quivering voice.

“I’m just so happy, it’s too overwhelming to see you again…”

His words were intertwined with sobs.

Meanwhile, as the girl noticed the Count, she tried to speak but eventually closed her lips. Her eyelids were far too heavy.

“It’s strange. I’m so sleepy my eyes are closing.”

“It’s alright. Just rest your eyes. I’ll handle everything that remains.”

The answer didn’t come.

In the blink of an eye, the girl had fallen asleep.

With trembling hands, the Count held onto her wrist. A warm feeling. He felt a clear pulse. Moreover, she was breathing rhythmically.

“Ah, Ah.”

The Count fell to his knees as if crumbling down.

And why wouldn’t he?

Three years ago, when his only daughter, Yurfe Dermore, had passed away, the wish he had harbored all this time had finally been fulfilled.

Despite her face and body being different, her soul was undoubtedly Yurfe. The Count was certain of it.

As he relished in that feeling of joy.

“I have proven my power.”

“Now, it’s time to fulfill our promise.”

The darkness spoke again.

Once faced with that, the Count recalled the events from the day before.

‘At the time the incident occurred at the Source of Magic.’

He hurriedly scanned the surroundings, seeking the scattered mages. At that moment, a voice suddenly beckoned him.

“Come this way, magician.”

The voice was quite unpleasant to heed.

As though it did not belong to this world. But thinking it might be related to the investigation, the Count walked toward where the voice had come from.

Eventually, he arrived.

There, he faced countless gleaming eyes sprouting from the darkness.

“I am the ruler of the Abyss. The supreme eye that observes and pierces through the world.”

The voice revealed itself to the Count, making a sudden proposal. If he swore allegiance, his wishes would be granted.

The moment he heard that.

The first thing that sprung to mind was the conclusion that it was a hallucination or an auditory illusion. He was, after all, at the boundary of Zone 2 and 3.

Thus, he tried to disregard it and make his exit when the voice whispered again.

“That soul will soon perish.”

The eyes were directed toward the pocket of the Count.

Inside was the sphere.

Once the Count realized that, he stopped in his tracks, and the voice continued to speak.

“Naturally, it is expected that a vesselless soul returns to the heavens. No amount of force can prevent it.”

He understood all too well.

The soul the voice spoke of was indeed the soul of his daughter who had perished three years ago.

However, as he had just heard, a soul that had lost its physical form could not last long. Hence, the Count had been desperately gathering the materials.

“But I am different. I can not only restrain souls but also bind them to a vessel.”

In that moment, the voice’s sweet whispers ebbed into his mind.

That had pierced through his anxious and restless heart.

“Magician, serve and worship me. In return, I shall grant your wish.”

Had it been any other time, such a proposition would have raised suspicions several times over, but the Count was entranced by the voice’s words.

Thus, he vowed.

If you truly resurrect my daughter, I will willingly become your servant, swearing on my mana.

And now.

Yurfe had indeed come back to life.

Seeing it right in front of his eyes, no doubt could remain. The Count knelt before the darkness.

To fulfill his vow.

“I, the magician, D’muehl Ron Dermore, salute you.”

The Count’s forehead touched the floor.

Declaring complete subservience.

Soon after, the darkness engulfed him.

Throughout this process, he felt a burning pain, like being engulfed in flames, but not a single groan escaped his lips as he endured it.

After a short while.

A distinct mark formed on the Count’s chest.

The shape seemed like a large eye drawn at the center of an ashen vortex. Alongside that, a familiar voice could be heard from the darkness.

“I have confirmed your oath.”

“Sorcerer, D’muehl Ron Dermore.”

“Now you are my apostle.”

Rakus Clanman Duratus.

The screaming eye of the Abyss.

Wriggling out through the rift, it merged into the world outside the Abyss, and the disaster grinned with satisfaction.

And its whispers no longer sounded foul.

3.

The following early morning.

Due to the rain that had poured the day before, Arsen Academy was cloaked in a dense fog.

Fog so thick that one could barely see ahead.

Hidden within this fog, someone quietly moved while erasing their presence.

Sashay!

A man scaling the walls of a tall structure like a centipede.

That man was Ulan.

He climbed up to the ninth floor instantly before finally arriving at his destination. The Dean’s Office of Diplyn Cernio.

The reason Ulan visited here was simple.

It was due to the words he heard just before dispatching Diplyn.

“If you have the treatment method, you can do whatever you want with Delia. The girl would do anything to save her sister.”

Diplyn had said that.

She knew how to cure Delia’s half-sister, who had become a cripple. And she claimed she would hand it over if her life was spared.

‘That means…’

There must be some written treatment method.

Ulan thought that the only place Diplyn was likely to keep such a thing was in her office. So he had come here, taking advantage of the early morning hours.

But he soon ran into a roadblock.

‘This is troublesome.’

There were too many documents.

He estimated that there were at least a few hundred books altogether, and considering the disorganized materials as well, he couldn’t even think about where to start looking.

‘Should I have brought Noa along?’

As Ulan’s brows furrowed, suddenly a shadow wavered.

And soon after, a white smoke billowed up like fog.

[Grrr!]

It was the appearance of White Wolf.

Now transformed back into an ordinary wolf, he sniffed around before suddenly tapping on the left wall.

Then, an astonishing event occurred.

Grurururu!

With the sound of mechanical gears whirring, the wall began to shift on its own. Moments later, a hidden laboratory revealed itself.

Ulan’s eyes widened in surprise.

“How did you find this place?”

But no answer came.

White Wolf had already dashed into the laboratory a step ahead of him. Following him, Ulan entered the lab.

After a short while.

His vision was drawn to something.

“This is…”

It was clearly a safe.

The external appearance suggested it was meant to hold important items. However, it was made from steel and wrapped tightly with thick chains.

Clearly preventing access to those who weren’t its owner.

Though it wouldn’t pose a problem for Ulan.

Crash!

Chains shattered immediately.

It broke so effortlessly that it felt like it had originally been made of that material.

Then Ulan activated his spirit.

He spread his large palms wide and grasped both ends of the safe, applying strength.

As a result.

Crrack! Crack!

The safe was torn in two.

It was unbelievably simple.

Soon after, items that had been stored inside the safe fell out with a clatter.

A few magic stones, a notebook, and a bundle of documents.

Out of those, Ulan first examined the notebook. He felt an instinct that it would hold valuable clues.

But it wasn’t easy.

“……What’s written here?”

It was a language he had never seen before.

It was likely something used by sorcerers.

In his past life, Delia had also occasionally used incomprehensible characters.

Frowning in concentration, Ulan shifted his attention to the bundle of documents.

Fortunately, this time it was a language he recognized.

So he focused and began reading through the documents. A little while later, blood started to drip from his nose.

“Found it.”

A smile crept across Ulan’s lips.

It was thanks to the mention of “treatment methods for magic addiction and overload” in the last sentence.

With this, he had achieved the purpose of his visit.

Just as he was about to depart without any lingering sentiments.

Chomp! Chomp!

White Wolf was seen munching on something.

It was the pieces of the safe Ulan had torn apart earlier. He was gnawing at the chains, too.

“Is that tasty?”

[Grrr!]

“You’re quite the unique fellow.”

Though the safe and chains held some magical energy, he hadn’t expected him to eat those too. The more he observed, the more intriguing the creature was. Ulan chuckled in amusement.

“Let’s head back.”

After delivering a brief remark.

They left the Dean’s Office without leaving any evidence behind. Gradually parting from the receding fog, Ulan hurried along.

He had an appointment in the morning.

With Noa and Laurea.

He recalled the promise to reveal the hidden truth during their meeting.

As thoughts of the three-way confrontation filled his mind, Ulan headed straight towards the dormitory.

Chapter 33 – Confession