Chapter 108: The end of the first semester (1)

“¡Aaaaargh!”

A gut-wrenching scream burst from Cladi’s throat, though it sounded more like a rough, broken noise. His voice had long since faded, and now only sputters of blood escaped.

Cladi’s mutilated body lay on the ground, barely recognizable. His eyes were clouded, and the limbs he once had were now reduced to stumps. His entire body trembled, evidence of the intensity of the torture he had endured.

The ones responsible for his state were Altair and Knox. As natural assassins, their ability to inflict pain was flawless—to the point that, even as a spectator from a distance, I couldn’t help but feel a chill run down my spine.

“P-please… kill me…”

Cladi barely managed to move his tongue to form those words, torn and ruined as it was.

Earlier, in a desperate attempt, he had bitten down on his own teeth while convulsing, worsening his condition even further.

Altair let out a dry chuckle, raising his hand slightly as he moved the blade of his cane-sword.

Slice—

A wet sound echoed as the blade severed the last remaining hand Cladi had left. Blood gushed out immediately, and another agonizing scream filled the room.

“¡Aaargh!”

The echo of his scream was so piercing that even Knox furrowed his brow. Being so close, the sound must have been unbearable.

Knox reached out and grabbed Cladi’s jaw firmly, stopping him from screaming any further.

“¡Mmff!”

Unable to make a sound, Cladi could only writhe in place. Altair leaned toward him, his expression almost compassionate—though his words were anything but.

“Believe me, I don’t enjoy this either. I’ve despised you from the beginning, Cladi, but don’t think I’m doing this for pleasure. However, a traitor doesn’t deserve a merciful death, least of all someone like you—who betrayed humanity itself.”

Altair calmly wiped the blood from his sword with a handkerchief as he spoke.

Cladi tried to protest, his mouth moving frantically, but Knox held his jaw shut, preventing him from uttering a single word.

Over time, Cladi’s movements began to weaken. His eyes wavered, and it was evident that he had lost all hope.

‘He’s given up.’

His head dropped even lower, as if the weight of his own misery was crushing him. A pitiful and pathetic sight for someone who had lived his whole life in privilege.

But considering his crimes, this seemed like the most fitting end.

He had tried to harm the academy’s students, betrayed humanity, and collaborated with demons. Treason and murder—two crimes that justified any punishment.

‘Oh, right.’

Suddenly, I remembered something I wanted to ask him. There might not be much left to squeeze out of him, but even a dry rag can yield a few drops if wrung hard enough.

I walked toward him. Altair, noticing my approach, lifted his head.

“Well, you’re just in time. Hold on, we’re almost finished. These scenes aren’t exactly for spectators.”

“I want to ask him something before you finish.”

Altair tilted his head, clearly surprised. He didn’t expect Cladi, in his current state, to be able to answer anything.

Even so, he nodded naturally and gestured for Knox to release Cladi’s jaw.

“Ugh… ah…”

Only then did Cladi gasp for air, struggling as blood trickled from his many wounds. I crouched in front of him, lowering my gaze to meet his.

“Hey.”

Cladi’s barely functioning eyes slowly lifted to meet mine.

“Before you die, answer this—who among the nobles or the other elders supported your actions?”

“……”

“In your case, we have evidence and witnesses, but what about them? If you confess, I might convince them to finish you off quickly.”

Cladi’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He knew, just as I did, that he wasn’t going to survive. However, in his current condition, any promise of relief from his suffering was tempting.

Knox and Altair, watching silently, nodded slightly when I glanced at them. Altair even smiled approvingly.

Cladi opened his mouth, but only blood bubbled up, choking his throat. Knox quickly improvised a bandage to stop the bleeding from Cladi’s wounds.

Finally, he managed to whisper a few barely audible words.

“Are… are you really going… to kill me quickly if I talk?”

Thick blood still poured from between his teeth, his voice tainted with desperation. I nodded slowly, keeping my expression calm.

“We know you’re beyond saving, but I’m offering you this last chance for redemption. Tell me everything you know.”

“……”

A heavy silence settled over the room as everyone waited for his response. The moon, now unobstructed, cast a dim light over the space, revealing the macabre details of the scene.

Cladi seemed to be thinking it over, but time continued to pass, and my patience was beginning to run out.

His breathing became increasingly erratic, and his eyes, clouded with a grayish film, showed signs of despair.

Then, just as I was about to press him further, Cladi suddenly burst into laughter.

“¡Puhahahaha!”

His unexpected reaction froze everyone in place. I couldn’t help but be stunned as the dying man started laughing so loudly.

Knox reflexively raised his weapon. But Altair extended his hand, stopping him.

I bent my knees and crossed my arms. Then, I closed my eyes coldly.

Cladi curled the corners of his mouth into a twisted grin.

“Did you really think that, no matter how desperate my situation was, I would accept the offer of a lowly bastard like you? I have no dignity left as it is! Besides, I’m going to die soon anyway. And you threaten me? You, a mere special-class student? That’s ridiculous!”

The absurdity of his words made me let out a sarcastic chuckle.

So this kind of stubbornness is what defines a villain? If that’s the case, why did they betray humanity in the first place?

And on top of that, he dared to recite the “chosen people” speech. As they say—people never change. Today, once again, I received another lesson in that wise saying.

“After my death, the elders… no, all the nobles! Do you really think they’ll leave your pathetic Auditore family alone?! When that time comes, Kang Geom-Ma, you’ll be begging for death!”

His arrogance was beyond belief. I had given him a chance, yet instead of valuing it, he mocked it.

It seems even a cornered rat will bite a cat.

I let out a deep sigh and lightly pressed my foot against Cladi’s only remaining ankle.

“I don’t even feel pain anymore! Do your worst!”

Cladi bit his lip, trying to put on a defiant expression.

I chuckled and activated [Transfer Blessing] and [Regeneration Blessing].

Originally, I planned to kill him quickly, but touching a bug like this directly disgusted me.

Whoosh—

Immediately, a pure white energy flowed from the tip of my foot into Cladi’s body. The gaping, torn wounds began to heal, blisters forming along the cuts as his severed limbs slowly regenerated.

“….!”

Cladi’s eyes widened in utter disbelief at the sudden treatment. Even the two assassins beside me looked perplexed, unable to understand why I was healing him.

When his clouded pupils began to regain some light, I stopped the flow of the blessing. Cladi looked at me, his eyes filled with a mixture of emotions.

I immediately spoke in a cold voice.

“Endure as much as you can.”

Cladi’s face paled instantly. It was as if his brain had stopped functioning—his eyes and mouth completely out of sync.

I turned to Altair and Knox.

“The visible wounds should be healed enough now. He won’t say anything useful, so ‘cook’ him however you see fit. As you said before, it’s best to cut out problems at the root.”

“…Understood.”

The moment I finished speaking and took a step forward, a desperate voice called out behind me.

“W-wait a moment!”

Cladi screamed with all his might, his voice filled with raw desperation. I turned slowly, narrowing my eyes.

Altair and Knox drew serrated daggers, blades designed to inflict the maximum amount of pain. Cladi, realizing what awaited him, began desperately crawling away, trying to escape.

I watched the scene with an indifferent expression and murmured.

“It’s your choice.”

Soon, the screams filled the room once more—louder than ever.

It took about ten minutes for the deafening echoes to finally cease, ending with the metallic sound of weapons dropping to the floor.

***

The arrival of the Sword Master and the Director took place 30 minutes after Cladi’s death.

An even stronger stench of blood than the one in the clearing where they had massacred the five villains greeted them. Both let out a faint sigh, as if in agreement.

“…Wow.”

The scene was so horrific that it felt like the boundary between hell and reality. Even for a Seven Stars hero, accustomed to countless battlefields, this sight was shocking. Devastation of this magnitude was not a common occurrence.

While inspecting the area in disbelief, the Sword Master approached Altair.

“Have you arrived, Sword Master?”

“…What happened here?”

“What else can I say? What you see—that’s all there is. We killed 50 guards, 15 villains in total, as well as Cladi. Every single one of them was eliminated. Of course… we also lost some of our own.”

For a moment, Altair’s face darkened. Media, looking incredulous, interrupted the conversation.

“Are you serious? The best of Auditore were defeated? That makes no sense. And more importantly, why were there 15 villains here to begin with?!”

After taking a deep breath, she continued speaking.

“From the looks of it, the professor, who seemed to be the leader of the villains infiltrated in the academy, sent all his forces here. It seems we walked right into his pathetic trap.”

“This is insane.”

Media cursed under her breath as she rubbed her temples, unsure whether to get angry or simply resign herself to the absurdity of the situation.

Altair continued explaining what had happened, while the Sword Master and the Director alternated between exhaustion and shock.

Their conversation carried on for several minutes.

“This is insane.”

That was Media’s honest conclusion after hearing the full explanation.

In fact, she still couldn’t fully process everything she had heard, and a faint throbbing pain pulsed at the back of her head.

And it was no wonder.

What Altair had told them wasn’t just shocking—it bordered on the unbelievable.

In summary, it had been a solo performance by Kang Geom-Ma.

That was all.

The entire account boiled down to the fact that he had practically massacred the villains that had suddenly appeared.

And the proof lay in the countless corpses strewn across the ground.

The Sword Master carefully turned his gaze toward Kang Geom-Ma.

An unsettling glow flickered in his eyes. His expression was completely hollow, as if consumed by exhaustion, and his posture showed no reaction to the overwhelming stench of blood filling the air.

The Sword Master felt a chilling shiver run down his spine.

Kang Geom-Ma’s presence resembled that of a demon reigning over a bloody hellscape.

‘…What exactly are you?’

There was no need to question his abilities. After all, he had cut down Agor on Avalon Island.

The Sword Master was convinced that something unfathomable resided within Kang Geom-Ma.

But this violence—this was different. It terrified him even more.

Unintentionally, the Sword Master shifted his gaze toward the corpses by the Sashimi Knife.

The wounds were clean—no resistance, no irregularities in the cuts.

How was it possible for someone to be so indifferent to the act of taking lives, to slicing through flesh? Even those who had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship inevitably left some trace of emotion in their cuts.

The Sword Master’s questions and unease regarding Kang Geom-Ma only deepened further.

It was as if he were facing a primal existence, devoid of any distinction between good and evil.

In the prolonged silence, Altair carefully addressed the Sword Master.

“Kang Geom-Ma… that young man is truly an outstanding talent, don’t you think?”

Altair chose his words carefully, avoiding being too direct.

“The greater the potential, the more he needs a true master who is up to the task. Besides, didn’t you declare yourself as his master? Of course, I understand that, having just stepped away from the Seven Stars, you’ve had many distractions that prevented you from properly guiding him.”

The Sword Master, who had remained silent until now, slowly turned his head to the side.

Altair met his gaze directly and continued speaking.

“The holidays are about to begin, aren’t they? What do you think about taking in Kang Geom-Ma during that time? If you guide him properly, that young man could achieve great things. I’m certain that, with his talent, he could one day inherit the Nibelung tradition, which has endured for generations…”

Altair let out one final, brief remark.