Chapter 52

It wasn’t a simple coincidence.

It was a hunch.

Aint knew that everything that had happened so far was very different from the future described in the book of prophecies, and that’s why he feared he wouldn’t survive to see it through.

He just wanted to confirm it with his own eyes, until the very end.

“But it looks like coming here was the right call.”

That hunch gave him the chance to prevent the future from veering into the worst possible outcome.

“Money for your funeral?”

Kik-kik, the half-collapsed body of the corrupted straightened completely.

“Arrogant bastard. Your corpse will disappear without a trace.”

“Aint, can you stand?”

“Yes… yes!”

Aint stood up with difficulty, but he didn’t seem to be in normal condition.

Fernan tossed him a potion.

“Take it.”

“Thanks. But, how did you get here…?”

A rock emerged from the ground, but it was pierced by a black flash.

Even so, that brief delay gave Aint the chance to duck and dodge the dark beam.

He rolled on the ground and grabbed his fallen sword.

— Are you okay, Aint?

“Drink the potion and come with me, Aint Armian!”

Aint drank the potion in a hurry.

Fernan had already rushed in to fight the corrupted.

“You think someone like you can stop me?!”

“Your voice is getting more annoying.”

The dark energy masses collided with a wall of stone.

Clang!

The claws that followed tore it apart, but through the dust, Fernan slammed his staff into the ground.

Dozens of rock spikes erupted toward the corrupted.

“How pathetic…!”

He briefly held his breath and released it. The spikes were repelled by the enemy’s magic, which had grotesquely swelled.

Then, a storm of dark spikes launched toward Fernan. The stone wall crumbled like paper.

The storm struck another wall but failed to destroy it. Even so, the impact sent Fernan flying backward.

Just before he could regain his footing, a black shadow charged again.

BOOM!

The claws stopped right before his face. A translucent barrier had protected him.

“You’re carrying more trinkets than I thought…”

Using the power of an artifact, Fernan activated a memorized spell.

Rumble!

The ground beneath the corrupted’s feet flipped. His body staggered, suspended in the air.

From above, two giant stone hands slammed down as if to pray.

Crash!

The roar shook the underground. A moment of silence, then Fernan threw dozens of glass vials.

Crack!

The liquids inside seeped into the cracks of the stone hands.

In that instant, they completely disintegrated. Amid the crashing sounds, the groan of the corrupted echoed.

“Damn you…! What the hell was that…?!”

With pungent smoke rising from his body, part of the dark magic surrounding him was dissolving.

What was it? Holy water, specially prepared for bastards like you.

“No reason I should explain it to you.”

Holding back the urge to mock, Fernan brushed the bracelet on his wrist.

A bolt of lightning struck.

“Argh, damn you…!”

Even so, the corrupted swallowed the pain and managed to control the decomposing energy.

“You know something? My best magical affinity is actually with fire.”

The corrupted didn’t respond. Fernan didn’t expect him to.

“I mainly studied earth magic, but I never stopped practicing fire. The more cards I have, the better.”

Though not as good as money.

“And you know what else? Earth magic is the most useful for drawing magic circles. It’s hard to imagine that a simple pile of dirt is a circle.”

So what I mean is—

“You may be pretending to listen just to buy time and recover your magic, but I even accounted for that.”

At that moment, the magic circle drawn in the dirt glowed. It was massive, covering a five-meter radius around the corrupted.

“Damn—!”

────！

A giant column of fire devoured him. A roar shook the surroundings, and heat scorched everything around.

“What are you doing just standing there, Aint Armian?”

“…Ah.”

Aint blinked, stunned by the scene.

“I was about to take the potion and jump in…”

“Did the bottle have a dimensional expansion or something?”

“…No, nothing like that.”

“I’ll leave the finishing blow to you. My spells aren’t strong enough to end that guy.”

As Fernan said, the corrupted was still standing, despite the flames. His magic had weakened considerably and his body was covered in burns, but he was still alive.

Neither his determination nor his bloodlust had vanished. In fact, the latter was even more intense.

“He doesn’t exactly look weak…”

“Don’t tell me you can’t finish the job.”

“Of course I can.”

Aint stepped forward with a determined look. A white aura radiated around him.

“Exactly. At the very least, you should justify eating the Saint bird’s heart.”

Aint stomped the ground with force.

“I’ll kill you…! I’m going to kill you…!”

The corrupted roared, squeezing every last drop of his remaining magic.

──！

Aint and the corrupted clashed. The corrupted was still fast, but after the holy water and the light, he could no longer match Aint.

His skin was still tough, but not tough enough to block Aint’s sword.

“I’m gonna die this easily…?!”

With that final cry, his head flew.

“…Ah, right! I’m not supposed to kill him! We need to know who’s behind this!”

But instead, his limbs were severed. His body sprawled across the ground.

“Argh…! My arm…!”

By forcibly changing the trajectory of the slash, Aint’s arm twisted grotesquely, and he screamed in pain.

***

— That guy… is truly talented.

While adjusting his dislocated arm and pouring the potion Fernan had given him, Aint realized that Gardner Alfenparsen was deeply excited.

“He might not cast the most powerful spells, but he knows how to use what he has and make use of the environment. That’s an exceptional talent.”

— And above all, he doesn’t fear the corrupted… and mocking them is an art!

‘I feel like he gave more points for that last part… But was there really any mocking?’

— You don’t see it. He anticipated what the corrupted was thinking, turned it around cleverly, and even explained it with the utmost kindness just to churn his guts. That, kid, is also mockery.

— It was all perfect.

‘If you say so, Gardner…’

Aint’s gaze landed on Fernan, who was sitting on a rock to rest.

‘I didn’t expect him to be this good…’

If Aint Graham was the eye of the storm among the first-years, Fernan Pellenberg was unquestionably the same among the second-years.

Until the previous year, he had been ranked tenth, but ever since entering the second year, he had climbed terrifyingly fast. Rumor had it he’d been hiding his true strength.

‘Was he really hiding it?’

— If not, it makes no sense. You have my help, but he doesn’t.

‘But why would someone live hiding such power? If it were me, I’d have shown it off from the beginning.’

As Aint began to see Fernan in a new light, the latter slowly approached the fallen corrupted.

“Crawling on the ground like an insect—what a fitting image.”

“You bastard…!”

“I have a gift for you.”

He shoved a glass bottle into his mouth. The holy water inside began forcing its way down his throat, and the man screamed as if being torn apart.

“Kyaaaagh!”

“It’s good for your body. Drink up.”

The corrupted’s mouth and throat warped as if burning. Fernan thrust his hand inside him.

“What are you doing?”

“Just checking if he had tried it before—guess not, huh?”

Maybe there was a self-censorship spell or a magical restriction. If demons were involved, that made more sense.

“If I asked you to reveal where your master is, you wouldn’t, right?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! I might’ve lost because I was weak, but you’ll never succeed! You’ll all die here with me…!”

Then—

Crack.

The corrupted’s chest caved in and Fernan’s hand plunged inside. The man coughed up blood.

Fernan poured holy water into the gaping hole in his chest.

“GUAAAAAAAARGH!”

The scream was far more horrid than before.

He’d poured holy water directly into the mana heart, where the demonic energy was concentrated. Naturally, the clash triggered such a reaction.

“Thinking of self-destructing? You think I’ll fall for the same trick twice?”

Even if a corrupted tried to self-destruct, it wasn’t a big deal. They merely caused their demonic energy to go haywire. But if you completely removed that energy, it became impossible.

“I came up with a fun idea. Maybe I can purify you.”

Demons or monsters descending through magic were literally “Demons.” If he used enough holy water, they might be extinguished.

But the corrupted?

They were creatures of this middle world. Insects who betrayed humanity by worshipping demons and receiving their power.

Since they weren’t original demons, if their demonic energy was eliminated repeatedly, wouldn’t only their original self remain?

“Will you still stay loyal to the demons and stay silent?”

It required an enormous amount of holy water, but that didn’t matter.

“You can expect the worst. I recently got a huge supply.”

Unfortunately, the corrupted had already passed out, foaming at the mouth and eyes rolled back. He didn’t hear a word.

“A brilliant idea. Making him an ally from the start was a masterstroke.”

“If that holy water can purify the corrupted, it’ll be very useful.”

“Maybe if we combine it with the Armian light power, we’ll get even better results.”

“Hmm? Aint, why are you so pale?”

“…It’s just that…”

He couldn’t say that Fernan seemed more demonic than the actual demons.

“Stop talking nonsense. You have someone more reliable than anyone, and you think that way.”

“You still have a long way to go.”

Of course, Gardner, who could read his mind, noticed instantly.

And that day, Aint felt Gardner more distant than ever.

***

Screeech.

After offering blood, the heavy door opened smoothly. Just beyond, a set of descending stairs revealed themselves.

They were long. About a hundred meters, give or take.

They led from one underground level to an even deeper one, making it hard to gauge how deep the place truly was.

“Hey, are you sure I can enter here?”

“Yes, don’t worry. You saved my life, after all.”

“Well, if you say so…”

At the end of the stairs was a single door, and a short corridor stretched ahead. On both sides were several murals.

“This is…”

“Demons.”

“Demons, huh?”

Ten figures were painted on the mural, but they weren’t human. Despite being mere illustrations, they sent chills down the spine and stirred deep revulsion.

Aint stopped in front of one with a humanoid form and a snake coiled around its arm.

“This is Demon No. 72, Andromalius. The one next to him is Dantalion, number 71.”

Dantalion had a human form, but multiple heads, and held a book in one hand.

“But why are they looking at each other with such hate?”

“They don’t seem to get along.”

And not just them. Every pair of demons portrayed looked at each other with clear hostility.

“The kid’s right. Not all demons get along.”

“Just like humans have many kingdoms and factions, demons also group and compete.”

“If the former emperor hadn’t taken advantage of that, he might not have defeated Colomo.”

After walking past the corridor, they offered blood again, and another door opened. There, Aint found what he was seeking.

A small artifact, white as snow, shaped like a fragment.

“Is this part of the first emperor’s legacy? A fragment?”

“It’s an accessory. For that sword.”

“I see. Then I’ll take it.”

Aint nodded and stepped forward slowly.

“There’s a high-level barrier around it. Extend your sword. It will react and dissipate.”

As soon as he extended it, a ripple spread. The invisible barrier faded like mist.

Click, the fragment fit perfectly into a slot on the hilt.

The energy leaking from it made him hold his breath in awe.

“All done.”

“But I feel kinda bad… He saved my life, and I’m the one getting this… I want to give him something.”

As a poor descendant of the former imperial family, he had nothing to offer. Or rather, nothing that could satisfy Fernan.

“No, you do have something that can satisfy me.”

Fernan shook his head firmly.

“Huh?”

“Would you really give me anything?”

“…Yes. As long as it’s not this sword…”

“It’s not. It’s that over there.”

Fernan pointed upward. Aint looked up to follow his finger.

The ceiling. There was nothing but a few magic lamps embedded here and there.

“…Other than the magic lamps, there’s nothing there.”

“Exactly. That’s what I want.”

“Huh?”

“Give me all the magic lamps installed in this dungeon. That’ll be enough.”

From the entrance to here, there were exactly one hundred. This dungeon was a real treasure trove.