Chapter 253

“This is more chaotic than I expected.”

In the southern part of the Rubens Empire, a man walked out of the training ground of Count Deorg with a disgruntled face after finishing his sword practice.

“There’s definitely a limit to doing things alone.”

It was Istan El Deorg, one of the Five Swords of the Empire and the lord of this castle. Pondering the wall that blocked his way, he muttered with a flutter of his lips.

“If only I could fight again….”

He thought he might be able to leap over the wall.

With a sigh, Istan recalled the person who had helped him overcome the long-standing Ashes Syndrome that had plagued him for so long—a once-in-a-century genius, Ulan Bator from Arsen Academy, who defeated him at the age of seventeen.

‘Should I go and ask him for help?’ He thought, feeling a bit fired up.

Just as he contemplated the matter until the sweat on his heated body turned cold, a sound suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Rustle!

The sound of leaves moving.

Accompanied by an intentionally created presence, a familiar voice tickled his ear.

“Your Excellency, Count.”

It was one of Istan’s trusted subordinates, a spy he had nurtured himself. After a moment, the subordinate appeared silently like smoke and knelt, bowing respectfully.

“Report from the Raven Brigade.”

The Raven Brigade was a unit composed of cultists abandoned by the Desert Order, an intelligence organization Istan had built over many years.

As the report continued, Istan’s eyes gleamed sharply. To his knowledge, the Raven Brigade had only one mission currently.

‘Silfi Rudrik.’

One of the heirs of the Desert Order who had secretly enrolled in Arsen Academy while hiding her identity.

Having figured out her true identity, Istan had secured information about the noble who had been backing Silfi in exchange for ensuring her safety.

D’muehl Ron Dermore.

Commonly known as Count Dermore.

Thus, Istan sought the Raven Brigade to find evidence of Dermore’s contact with the cultists. Just as the reports were arriving, he queried.

“Did you secure tangible evidence?”

“Yes, it’s here.”

The subordinate answered respectfully before producing a crystal ball, a video recording device commonly used by the Raven Brigade.

Vvvvrrrrr!

After channeling his magic, the recorded video began to play. It showed Count Dermore having a conversation with someone.

“That guy is….”

The other party was a robed mage cloaked in ash.

He handed something to Count Dermore and then vanished without a trace. The recording ended right there.

After a moment, as the crystal ball lost its glow, Istan turned his gaze back to his subordinate.

“Is that all the footage?”

“Yes, but there was additional information related to the content of the video from the Ravens.”

“What kind of information?”

“They tracked down the mage who made contact and identified him. However…”

The subordinate hesitated, his expression darkening.

He then shook his head.

“He wasn’t a cultist.”

Istan’s eyebrow twitched.

Could it be that it was a wild goose chase?

No, that can’t be true. If they had failed the mission, they wouldn’t have reported back. And as expected, the subordinate continued.

“He was an Abyss Worshipper.”

“…What?”

Istan dazedly asked, astonished at the unexpected revelation. Meanwhile, the subordinate, who was already aware of this fact, delivered the report in a steady voice.

“We secured solid evidence too.”

After a moment, he produced a head.

It was the head of the mage who had met with Count Dermore, as recorded in the crystal ball.

“We even found a symbol identifying him as an Abyss Worshipper on the body. This piece of evidence is being kept by us.”

What a solid piece of proof.

Istan couldn’t help but chuckle dryly. The current situation was hard to believe.

“A cultist and an Abyss Worshipper….”

D’muehl Ron Dermore.

What exactly is he up to?

As a whirlwind of questions swirled in his head, Istan concluded, ‘It’s certain that he is a major criminal.’

It’s already a serious crime that he conspired with cultists to get Silfi Rudrik into the academy.

But now he’s involved with Abyss Worshippers too? The crimes he committed could easily warrant confiscating his title and annihilating his clan.

‘But….’

He couldn’t just report him right away.

After all, Count Dermore was one of the individuals who had made significant contributions during the uprising of the next Emperor, Chartang.

Rumor has it he’s even considered Chartang’s closest confidant.

‘If I carelessly accuse Count Dermore in this situation, I might end up cornered instead.’

Of course, Istan had definite evidence, but he couldn’t be sure that Chartang would side with him.

There were also disturbing rumors that Chartang’s behavior had been peculiar recently.

‘What should I do?’ Faced with the undeniable evidence yet not wanting to act rashly, Istan was deep in thought when his subordinate spoke again.

“Also, in addition to the Raven Brigade’s mission, I have one more report.”

His expression was somewhat solemn.

“…Recently, the desert has been unusual.”

There had been a notable increase in monster hordes.

Moreover, the cultists scattered throughout the desert were gathering in one location.

The concerning point was that the place where the cultists were gathering was not the Desert Order’s base but the center of the desert.

“What’s located at the center of the desert?”

“Nothing at all. They say there used to be a huge oasis there long ago, but now it’s completely dried up and untraceable.”

Cultists gathering in a place that held nothing.

And a significantly increased number of monsters too.

Hearing news of the desert after such a long time, Istan’s eyes turned icy cold.

“It definitely seems suspicious.”

“Yes, if you could lend me the Raven Brigade, I can dig deeper for more details.”

“Alright. I grant permission.”

Currently, with evidence that Count Dermore had contacts with Abyss Worshippers, there was no longer a need for Istan to assign surveillance troops to him.

Plus, even if they obtained evidence of his collusion with cultists, he couldn’t report him immediately. So Istan authorized the use of the Raven Brigade.

“I’ll obey your command.”

The steadfast subordinate bowed his head before disappearing amidst the rustling of leaves, just as he had arrived.

“…….”

Left alone, Istan felt a whirlwind of emotions.

But it didn’t take long for his concerns to solidify into a plan.

He had thought of a way to unravel Count Dermore’s schemes and the suspicious movements of the cultists all at once.

“I need to meet her again.”

His icy eyes fixated on the northwestern sky—the direction towards Arsen Academy, where Silfi Rudrik was located.

2.

Time passed, and seasons changed.

Though they had set off on their school trip just as autumn was beginning, there was no sign of fall where Ulan and his group were currently situated.

“Hoo.”

A puff of foggy breath escaped Noa’s lips.

Shivering from the cold, she closed the partially open window. Leaning against the carriage’s interior, she reminisced about the journey so far.

‘It’s already been over a fortnight.’

Since parting ways with Laurea in Murka, Ulan’s group had taken a carriage Noa acquired and arrived at Plume in the Endrak Kingdom.

They completed their report regarding the incident and began their journey back to Arsen Academy with the support of Plume Academy.

‘That part went well.’

The problem arose afterward.

Due to the large-scale monster attacks, the road to the academy had disappeared. Therefore, they had no choice but to take a detour.

‘We could have easily arrived within a week, but now it took over two weeks.’

As a result, they had delayed their arrival more than anticipated.

If only there had been a magic-powered train, they wouldn’t have been delayed this much, but sadly, the train had been wrecked and turned into scrap.

Noa sighed silently.

‘But at least I was relieved that…’

The moment they entered the Arpen Duchy, Delia’s homeland, they received royal support.

Thanks to that, the group stayed in the royal castle for two days to rest from their fatigue. They also received support for the carriage to the academy and escort soldiers.

As she settled her thoughts, someone called out.

“Princess.”

“We’ve arrived at the camping site.”

Voices of the soldiers from the driver’s seat could be heard.

Due to the darkness that had fallen, they explained they could no longer continue traveling, and Ulan’s party got off the carriage and headed towards the barracks.

“You’ll be staying here for the night.”

“Well, make sure to rest well.”

The inside of the barracks was more spacious than expected.

Moreover, the area was divided into two, likely to separate male and female quarters.

After finishing their salute, the soldiers left, and Ivella and Fertisha jumped into the cozy blankets as if they had been waiting.

“Ah, this is comfortable.”

“I feel like I can finally breathe.”

Having sat on hard chairs all day, the blankets seemed especially welcoming to them today.

Awhile later, after a simple meal, the group gathered to chat about things they couldn’t discuss in the carriage. At that moment, Ivella’s gaze was suddenly captured.

“Huh? What’s that….”

Outside the barracks, a sight unfolded.

Through the dense darkness of the night, something pale was visible. Momentarily realizing what it was, her eyes widened in surprise.

“What? Is it really snowing right now?”

“Ah! It really is! How amazing!”

Indeed, heavy snowflakes were falling at the campsite. Surprised expressions adorned the faces of the group, as they noted that there was still a month left before it should have begun to snow.

Except for one person—Delia.

“This area is high in elevation, so it’s normal for snow to come earlier than elsewhere.”

Having grown up in the mountainous Arpen Kingdom, she was accustomed to such sights. Therefore, Delia explained casually.

“If it had come two weeks later, the snow would have piled up, and we would have had to take a different route.”

“Thank goodness it didn’t rain at all.”

Ulan murmured with relief.

If that had been the case, one could exaggerate that they would have arrived at Arsen Academy only when winter break began.

As they gazed quietly at the snowing scenery, Ulan’s lips moved again.

“By the way, is it already November?”

Moreover, it was the last Saturday of the month.

Ulan’s group had left Arsen Academy at the beginning of October for their school trip, so in a nutshell, nearly two months had passed.

“When we get back, finals will start.”

“Huh? No way. They won’t start right away.”

“You’re right. According to the academic calendar, the exam period won’t begin for another two weeks.”

Ivella and Delia shook their heads.

Yet, despite still having time left, they couldn’t afford to feel at ease. A fortnight wasn’t enough of a buffer.

The biggest issue was that Ulan’s group was returning considerably later than the other students, putting them at a disadvantage concerning exams.

“That means….”

“It’s pretty much a sure bet for failing this time too.”

With golden and teal colored eyes, Delia and Ivella looked at Ulan in unison. Realizing the meaning of their gaze, Ulan immediately refuted their prediction.

“We still don’t know.”

“The one who doesn’t know seems to be Ulan alone.”

“I want to back Ulan up, but this time, I think what he said is right.”

Although Delia and Ivella had always blindly supported Ulan, this time was different. They had now become all too aware of his academic reality.

“What are you going to do if you fail this time?”

“Yeah, you are supposed to go to the desert.”

The next destination for the hero’s group was the southern desert, following the clues Noa had mentioned.

However, this was set to take a considerable amount of time, so they had decided to move once winter break began. But for that, Ulan had to avoid failing.

In contrast to the group’s worries, Ulan casually answered.

“It’s simple. I don’t get a failing mark, and that solves everything.”

“That would definitely be the best outcome….”

“But that’s close to impossible right now.”

Having recalled Ulan’s dismal performance during the first semester finals, the party sighed.

‘Of course, it’s not like there’s zero chance.’

If worse came to worst, he could sneak away, just like he had done during the summer break when he went to Delia’s place.

While being a student is important, preventing the Abyss from emerging is even more crucial.

Meanwhile, oblivious to the group’s concerns, Ulan steeled himself with determination.

“This time, I’m going to pass for sure.”

A resolution so hot it could melt the cold snow. Although no one believed him.

After some time had passed.

The night at the camping site quickly faded away.

When morning broke, the snow that had fallen all night had finally stopped. It hadn’t piled too much on the ground, so the soldiers hurriedly prepared to depart.

“Then let’s move.”

With the soldiers’ report heralding the start, the carriage carrying Ulan and his party sped off towards the destination once more.

How long did they travel?

Just as the sun, peeking over the horizon, rose to the center of the sky, soldiers’ voices resonated from the driver’s seat.

“Princess.”

“We can see the destination.”

As they crested the hill, the soldiers reported.

Soon, the sight unfolding beyond the carriage window prompted Ivella and Fertisha to utter in unison.

“It feels oddly nostalgic to see it again.”

“Right? It really does.”

“I think so too.”

Ulan nodded along.

What lay below the hill was a familiar building—the Arsen Academy, which they hadn’t seen in two months.

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