Chapter 158
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Breakthrough
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Perhaps it was the aftereffect of the demonic energy churning in his head; a groan escaped him from the splitting headache.
“You filthy vile breed! You think I'm a pushover too!”
Despite the pain, Verian gritted his teeth and summoned his aura. An unbearable rage surged within him.
Why me, twice.
Why me, a third time.
“How did you… brainwash me?”
“I despise you vile breeds…!”
The first time he was infected with demonic energy, he ended up as Pernyan's servant.
The second time he was infected, he was waterboarded by that man they call a Saint.
Of course, it wasn't all bad, as it led to his connection with Pernyan and Aint, but a person's heart doesn't always see it that way.
Besides, it only turned out well by chance; it wasn't as if those vile breeds did it for his benefit.
A gray aura erupted.
“Die!”
The moment it flew toward the vile breed's neck.
“……!”
An immense pressure dominated the space.
Both the vile breed and Verian froze in place.
“Well done, Student Verian.”
Creeak, the old door of the general store opened.
“Thanks to you, I was able to detect the demonic energy.”
“…Headmaster?”
It was the Headmaster.
“How tiresome. To think so many are still hiding, no matter how much I search. They seem to have a more tenacious life force than cockroaches.”
He extended his hand. The vile breed's body was pulled into his grasp like a magnet.
“Kugh…!”
The vile breed groaned.
“Tell me. How many more of your comrades are in this academy?”
“…Do you really think I'd tell you that?”
“You will. Or you will die.”
“It is a sacrifice for our great masters. I do not fear death!”
In that moment, the body of the general store owner—no, the vile breed—began to swell.
“They say you people are quick to self-destruct. Just as Student Pernyan said.”
But. Who do you think stands before you?
Mana surged. The violent mana suppressed the demonic energy, forcibly severing its flow.
The vile breed's swelling body returned to its original form.
“I have not permitted you to die.”
The Headmaster smiled faintly.
“…Nonsense.”
The vile breed scoffed.
“Our great masters have permitted my death. What can the likes of you do, even if you forbid it!”
“Why, of course I'll stop your sui—”
At that moment, the book Verian was holding began to burn.
“What the—!”
Startled by the black flames, Verian threw the book.
But it was too late. The immense demonic energy that erupted from the burning book distorted the Headmaster's spatial control.
The vile breed's body began to swell again. More than twice as fast as before.
—!
The explosion was instantaneous.
The Headmaster couldn't prevent the suicide; the most he could do was contain the blast.
And instead of thousands of pieces of flesh, the vile breed scattered into black dust.
“…I've been had. What was that book?”
The Headmaster examined the book, now nothing but a pile of ash, but there was nothing to be learned.
“Are you alright?”
“…Yes, thanks to you.”
Verian breathed heavily.
* * *
“Get away.”
His body trembled.
It wasn't fear. Verian was not one to be afraid of something like this.
“Don't come near me!”
This was simply instinct. An instinct seared into his mind. And for good reason—it was far from a pleasant memory.
“I'm afraid I can't do that.”
Jace approached with a benevolent smile.
“Did you not say with your own mouth that demonic energy had invaded your body?”
“I pushed it out with my aura!”
“Are you certain it was completely removed?”
“I am! I'm certain!”
“Many people fall into delusion, believing their own thoughts to be the truth.”
“It's not a delusion!”
“Then what is there to hesitate about? We simply need to check, do we not?”
Jace held out an artifact that detected demonic energy. But Verian's gaze wasn't on it.
It fell on Pernyan and Aint, who were sitting behind Jace, enjoying teatime as if they weren't interested.
“Is this all I have to do?”
“Aint will check you himself.”
“Letting him see inside me is…”
“There are some among the vile breeds who cannot be detected by the Cult's artifacts. You know this.”
“I do not.”
“Then know it now.”
‘Damn it.’
Verian cursed inwardly, but there was no other way.
The thought of letting Aint, of all people, see his inner workings was unsettling, but it was also true that a part of him was anxious about whether he had truly purged all the demonic energy.
In the end, Verian held out his hand.
“I'll finish as quickly as I can.”
“Don't say something so obvious like you're doing me a favor.”
Aint's mana entered Verian's body. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes against the unpleasant sensation of another's mana coursing through him.
The result came quickly.
“There's not a trace of demonic energy.”
“Are you sure, Aint?”
“I'm sure.”
At those words, the Saint put away a bowl of holy water, looking disappointed.
“…You, what's with that look!”
“What look do you mean?”
The Saint offered a benevolent smile.
“But more importantly, Verian, congratulations.”
“Huh? What's this nonsense all of a sudden?”
“You've broken through your wall, haven't you?”
Verian tilted his head at Aint's words.
“I broke through my wall?”
He observed himself. And he realized Aint's words were true.
‘When on earth?’
There was only one possibility. When he broke free from the vile breed's brainwashing, he had thrown his entire being into the struggle.
Even as his insides were torn apart, he had become one with his aura, driven by the sole thought that he could not fall to a vile breed again.
‘Could it have been then?’
His body had been such a wreck while pushing out the demonic energy that this was the first time he'd properly observed himself since.
‘I'm overflowing with power.’
His understanding of swordsmanship and his control over his aura had become far more refined. A competitive spirit naturally arose.
“Aint, come at me.”
He wanted to test it. His achievement.
He wondered if, now, he could at least be on equal footing with Aint.
“Anytime.”
Aint didn't refuse.
“…Damn it.”
Verian added three more losses to his record.
* * *
“Something's strange.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
Pernyan nodded in agreement with Aint.
The vile breeds were so talented at hiding their demonic energy that even the Headmaster had admitted his own shortcomings to Aint.
In that sense, this incident had quite a few suspicious points.
Approaching Verian, who was close to Aint, or appearing now, when the Headmaster was on high alert.
“We have to assume this was intentional, right?”
But it was also strange to just assume it was intentional.
“If it was intentional, it means they wanted to get caught. But what would they gain from that?”
Nothing.
They say you give up the flesh to take the bone, accepting a loss for a greater gain.
But in this case, there was no bone for the vile breeds to gain by sacrificing their own lives.
That's what made it all the more confusing for them.
“Why not think of it the other way, Hyeongnim.”
“The other way?”
Jace, who had been listening quietly, suggested a completely different perspective.
“They weren't trying to get caught. They were trying not to get caught, and failed.”
That did make many things more understandable.
Verian Calburden was the eldest son of Marquis Calburden, one of the most prestigious families in the Empire, and he was close to Aint and Pernyan, the very people they were most wary of.
If they could turn him into a vile breed and plant him, he was in the perfect position.
“Verian has a history of being turned into a vile breed and failing. If they succeeded in turning him again, it would be the perfect way to catch us off guard.”
Pernyan took this opportunity to tell Jace that Verian had once been turned into a vile breed.
Perhaps because he had already purified Verian when his mind was steeped in demonic energy, Jace wasn't particularly surprised.
“Certainly, if Verian became a vile breed again, it would feel like we'd been caught off guard.”
“So they tried to turn Verian into a vile breed and failed. Since he'd been turned twice before, they might have thought it would be even easier. They probably thought they could handle it quietly.”
Verian, who had been listening quietly, yelled.
“One of those times, I didn't even become a vile breed!”
“The person who was used by vile breeds twice should please be quiet.”
“You crazy mage…! The whole world needs to know you waterboarded an innocent person!”
“I purified you. A minor pain was simply a part of that purification.”
The Saint made the sign of the cross and offered a short prayer.
“Ruina, what do you think?”
“The Saint's words are the most plausible. Otherwise, there's no reason for the vile breed to have killed himself, is there? He didn't gain anything by drawing attention to himself.”
“Aint, you?”
“Same here. That seems the most likely.”
“I agree.”
“Me too.”
More accurately, they couldn't think of anything else. And in such cases, that was usually the answer.
“The vile breeds might use this incident to approach you. Each of you, be especially careful.”
“We will.”
“Yes.”
“Of course.”
The meeting ended, and people began to leave the secret room one by one.
Watching their backs, Pernyan felt a renewed sense of emotion.
Ruina, Jace, Aria, Verian, and Aint.
Just a short while ago, a future of destitution was right around the corner, and now he was confronting demons alongside people whose names were in the Prophecy Book.
A year ago, this was a reality he could never have imagined.
‘But it's not enough.’
Timon Baertz, that eccentric, had joined them, but it was still far from enough for Aint to build a proper force.
‘I need to gather more.’
Especially the exceptional individuals mentioned in the Prophecy Book.
‘First, Barus…’
Barus was mentioned in the Prophecy Book as Aint's companion, and he was also one of the world's most reliable mercenaries—shamelessly money-grubbing.
“Aint. When did Barus say he'd be back?”
“He said he'd return next semester.”
That wasn't bad. But it wasn't the best.
‘Barus was always meant to be Aint's companion. Since I saved his life, that should remain the case.’
But Pernyan wanted more. People who weren't mentioned as companions in the Prophecy Book but were strong enough and worthy of being allies.
For example.
‘Someone like Ludger…’
Schwaben and Armian could not coexist.
But that was only because they were both aiming for the same goal: the imperial throne.
What if Ludger didn't desire the throne?
‘What if the great Elector of Schwaben were to firmly support Armian?’
The Schwaben family boasted the greatest power among the seven Electors.
If Ludger could lead even a fraction of their strength to help Aint, the situation would undoubtedly improve significantly.
‘For that to happen, Ludger needs to feel a greater sense of crisis. At this Elector's conference, the First Prince needs to push a little more…’
Just then, Hyde, who had been waiting outside, came in.
“Gongjanim.”
“What is it?”
“I think you need to see this.”
It was a newspaper.
【Research of the Century...! Rosalia Vienderk Develops a Semi-Permanent Mana Stone...! The Continental Academic Conference is in an Uproar!】
【Duke Ivon Fallenberg states, 'The Mana Stone composite is well worth researching. It will influence many fields.'...!】
【Rosalia's Highly Efficient Mana Stone!】
“…It's done!”
Pernyan shot up from his chair with a cry of triumph.
“It's done!”
Rosalia had finally done it.
“Now all that's left is to make money!”
It was the moment his long-term investment finally paid off.