Chapter 102

“Well, unexpected.”

Tap, tap. After finishing adjusting the orchid next to the window, the director poured the tea himself.

“That you would be the one to request an interview with me.”

“I heard some things.”

“And what things were those?”

“It was rumored that a rather big incident had occurred in Professor Rosalia’s laboratory.”

“Hmm.”

“The aroma of the tea is very pleasant.”

The director smiled calmly.

“Isn’t it? I grow it myself. It may sound like self-praise, but the quality is not bad at all.”

“Yes, it truly is.”

“A corrupt appeared. He tried to manipulate Professor Rosalia’s research, and there was a process to eliminate him.”

While blowing on the hot tea, Ludger asked:

“You respond so frankly?”

“What need do I have to hide it? You already knew what you were coming for, didn’t you?”

Although it wasn’t as large as the magestone core, the ice crystal was also a mass of immense mana.

By consuming it completely to unleash magic, the magical wave generated was not small.

Even if concealment circles and barriers were engraved on the walls, there was a limit.

Just as the director perceived it, some professors at the Academy noticed the anomaly.

“Professor Jowel was one of them. In terms of ability, he’s among the top five faculty members.”

Professor Jowel was someone connected both to Ludger and Schwaben.

“And what happened to the corrupt?”

“He was captured.”

“I heard you intend to delay the Continental Congress.”

“During the capture, there were some issues. Professor Rosalia’s research, which was to be presented there, became unusable.”

“I see.”

“I want to ensure she can present it successfully. For such a remarkable discovery to remain in the shadows due to an accident would be a shame.”

The director poured milk into his black tea and stirred it with a spoon.

“Would you like some?”

“No, thank you.”

“Some ask why add milk to black tea, but once you taste the smoothness, it’s not bad at all.”

With that sly old fox attitude, Ludger felt a certain annoyance.

“Why do you tell me everything so openly?”

“Do you even need to ask? Because you already know everything.”

The director took a sip and smiled in satisfaction.

“This is the Academy. One comes here to study, not to fight.”

“But what we learn is essentially how to fight, isn’t it?”

“If you look at it broadly, the framework may seem similar, but they are different things.”

The director emptied the cup in one gulp and refilled it.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t care about the Academy?”

“No matter how much I say that, how could I allow a parasite to grow in my son’s body?”

“That’s true too.”

“So, do you intend to interfere?”

“I have no such power.”

Ludger shook his head.

“Even if I did, I wouldn’t have reason to. On the contrary, if you wish, I could help.”

“There’s no need. Just don’t get in the way.”

“Understood. But, who discovered the corrupt?”

“Student Aint. As a proper Armian, he has a unique talent for detecting corrupt magic.”

“I see. Thank you.”

“If you want another interview, just make an appointment.”

The second prince of the Empire left the office.

“He doesn’t want to get involved directly until the end…”

He answered questions frankly, but didn’t reveal everything.

The true center of it all was Fernan, and the director had agreed to conceal it at his request.

After all, the Pellenbergs were the family that donated the most money to the Academy.

‘It’s not hard to guess why he wants to keep it secret.’

Even though Ludger knew Fernan and Aint were close, this was a different matter.

The director refilled his cup of tea for the third time.

“Hmm. As expected, the tea I grow myself is the best.”

That day, it tasted particularly good.

***

The wind blew and dry leaves fell.

Swish—

A floating leaf got in the way of the sword. The black blade cut it in two as it advanced.

Clang!

The swords clashed and sparks flew.

In that instant, one of them flew from its owner’s hand and fell to the ground after spinning five times in the air.

“……”

Aint Armian stared blankly at his torn hand and the sword embedded in the ground.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Verian Kalburdern approached angrily.

“Didn’t you say you wanted a duel? Where’s your head? Are you underestimating me?”

“…Don’t I look like a complete idiot?”

“What?”

The unexpected start made Verian frown.

Aint picked up his sword and swung it. But without strength, unable to cut even a dry leaf.

His clumsiness reflected his state of mind.

“That seed… if we had left it, it would have summoned a demon. It possessed as much power as the World Tree Branch, maybe more.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“If no one had discovered it, at the moment of Professor Rosalia’s presentation at the Congress… a demon would have been summoned before everyone.”

It was a foretold disaster.

The Continental Congress was one of the most prestigious events in the magical world.

There gathered mages in search of money and fame, along with nobles and the wealthy drawn by that glory.

Had the corrupts’ plan succeeded, countless people would have died, including many of the Empire’s most important figures.

A dreadful, unimaginable future.

“Speak clearly, damn it! Make it understandable!”

Verian didn’t know the truth.

“Ah… right, you weren’t there.”

“Are you mocking me? Do you think just because I listened to you a few times, you can take me lightly?”

“In Professor Rosalia’s laboratory, there was a corrupt. He manipulated her research, and had we not stopped him, the demon would have been summoned right in the middle of the congress.”

“……”

Aint summarized the facts, and Verian, dazed by the wave of information, ended up letting out a hiccup.

“…Did that really happen?”

“It was Senior Fernan who discovered and stopped it.”

“Ha… that man. I admit he’s capable. But how did he know, when?”

“That’s the problem.”

“What?”

“It’s a relief he stopped it, but I didn’t know anything.”

Despite having inherited the legacy of the First Emperor, despite considering himself the enemy of demons…

“I did nothing but blindly follow Fernan.”

How foolish, how pathetic.

“And does that matter so much?”

“It does. That the corrupt will act again is not a possibility—it’s a certainty. And we can’t afford to be surprised every time.”

“Well, Fernan will handle it.”

“I can’t depend on him forever. He is he, and I am me.”

Fernan was not “his” lord. The Pellenbergs were not servants of the Armians.

“I need my own people. People willing to help me.”

“And why are you telling me this?”

“I never grieved for my family’s fall. My relatives live off the memory of past glory, but I never even knew it.”

Lack only exists when compared with abundance.

Someone raised in a small town couldn’t long for life in the city.

“Of course I wanted my house to become great again, but it was a vague thought. Now, at the Academy, I’ve realized.”

How miserable Armian had become.

“If my house had the strength it once had, maybe I would’ve discovered the corrupt before Fernan.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not your trusted friend. Did you forget? Did you forget how we ended up together?”

“I always thought it would be good if Armian regained the greatness of the past… but I’ve never wanted it as strongly as I do now.”

Gardner’s words fueled his ambition.

The constant appearance of corrupts and demons only increased the possibility.

“I want to rebuild Armian.”

It was the first time he said it out loud to someone.

That was the weight of what he was confessing.

“You’re insane…! Aren’t you listening to me?”

Verian’s face turned pale.

“No, I’m listening.”

“If you want to rebuild your family, tell someone else! Don’t try to drag me in with you!”

“The situation is favorable. The power of Armian is the enemy of demons, and right now corrupts and demons are plunging the continent into chaos. This is the time when heroes are needed.”

Aint wanted to be that hero.

“But even a hero can’t do everything alone. I need you. To be exact, I want you to be one of mine.”

“What the hell are you saying, lunatic?”

Verian’s face twisted with fury.

“I’m on Prince Ludger’s side.”

“You were. Now he’s cast you aside.”

“He didn’t cast me aside, I was forced with threats to be with you!”

“Well said. And accompanying Senior Fernan, I learned something—to get what you want, you must spare no means.”

Aint’s face hardened with coldness.

“Don’t tell me…”

“You’re asking how we ended up together? How could I forget? And I also remember this—the first time is hard, but the second is easier.”

A dark foreboding passed through Verian’s eyes.

“Become my ally, Verian. This isn’t a request. It’s a threat.”

“You bastard…”

Verian gnashed his teeth.

***

【Breaking News: The 198th Continental Magic Congress, postponed two weeks….】

【Some mages celebrate the delay, exclaiming “We’ve gained time!”】

【No clear reasons have been given for the postponement… a unilateral notification?】

The director’s words had come true, and newspapers were raising questions about the sudden delay of the congress.

However, with the prince-electors involved, everything would eventually be silenced.

Professor Rosalia, with Fernan’s support and the director’s assistance, began recreating the magiestone core from scratch.

And she faced the root of what forced her to act this way.

“……”

It was repulsive, filthy, and nauseating.

An instinctive repugnance that any living being in this world, except monsters and corrupted beasts, would feel.

It wasn’t large, barely the size of a human head.

But its veins, pulsing like a heart beneath a viscous layer of flesh, made it look more like a fetus than a seed.

Anger welled up against Aaron—and against that seed.

But at the same time, curiosity arose.

What was it, really?

Why did it beat?

What would it reveal if dissected?

Snap. She lit a cigarette and smoked. With the smoke, her tired mind cleared a little, and her emotions settled.

“This is the first time I’ve seen anything like this. Fascinating, but disgusting and repulsive.”

The director stroked his beard while watching the seed twitch on the magic circle.

“Professor Rosalia, what do you plan to do with this?”

“You shouldn’t be asking me, but him.”

“Him?”

“It comes from a research project funded with my money. I’m the one who can claim ownership first.”

“But the research was carried out by Professor Rosalia.”

All eyes turned to her.

“I won’t deny it stirs my greed, but it’s not my research. And I also can’t deny that it arose from the magiestones Fernan provided.”

Rosalia, who had received the Itarium elixir and the magiestone supply, knew well who held the authority.

Even if the strange object piqued her interest, the research was the priority.

“That’s right, then.”

“So, what do you plan to do with it?”

“Destroy it.”

“Destroy it?”

“It’s an object left by a corrupt. It can bring us no benefit, so it must be destroyed.”

Even though other mages might burn with desire to study it, Fernan was still, at his core, a merchant.

An object that could explode and cause incalculable losses had no place in his plans.

“Would you buy it?”

“You said you’d destroy it, didn’t you?”

“With such a dense level of corrupt magic, even if you destroy it, its remnants will remain contaminated for a long time. Mages hungry for research would pay fortunes to possess it.”

It wasn’t a demon, so it wouldn’t vanish; like a monster that leaves behind a corpse.

“As payment for helping Professor Rosalia, the remains would be enough for me.”

Ambitious, no doubt. He had already received donations and still asked for more. But the director knew it was worth it.

“Fine, then I’ll destroy it and give it to you.”

“I want some too.”

“Yes, professor, you’ll get your share too.”

“Will you destroy it yourself?”

“I brought the right person for that.”

At Fernan’s words, Aint Armian, who had been waiting in silence, stepped forward and drew his sword.

“So you intended to do this from the beginning.”

“It’s an object left by a corrupt. There’s no one more fitting than Aint to end it.”

“But if the corrupt magic is damaged in the process, its value will drop.”

“There’s nothing more valuable than life.”

Aint focused his aura. A white light enveloped the blade of his sword.

“Wait a moment.”

The director raised his hand. Several layers of protective barriers surrounded everyone.

“My laboratory won’t collapse even with a Hellfire, but people—you never know. It’s a safety measure.”

“Thank you.”

With that brief pause, Aint raised his sword.

But the moment it came down—

──!

A strong repulsive force deflected it.

Flash—

The seed split in two.

It was an eye.

A large red eye emerged from its center.

— So in the end… this happened.

A strange voice, like tearing through eardrums, echoed.

The eye scanned everyone present, and an immense pressure filled the room.

Finally, it stopped on Aint.

— Armian, cursed seed.

— Today will be your end.

Before anyone could react to the sudden growth—

────!

The explosion erupted.