Chapter 60
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: A Corrupted Scion
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“……”
“……”
A man and a woman, their hair soaked in holy water, stared blankly at the ceiling.
“Their dead eyes suggest the purification isn’t quite complete. As a Saint, I cannot tolerate a job half-done, so I shall perform it once more…”
“Th-That’s enough!”
“Have you no shame, calling yourself a Saint?!”
Aria and Verian snapped back to their senses, letting loose a torrent of curses. Jace smiled with satisfaction at the sight.
“The purification is complete, my friend.”
“Good work.”
“Yes, and on that note, might I trouble you for two sheets of paper?”
Pernyan handed him some paper from a shelf in the secret room. Jace scribbled a few things on them before presenting them to Aria and Verian.
“What’s this…?”
“It’s a bill.”
“A bill?”
“I have cleansed the demonic energy that had taken root in your minds. It is only natural that you should pay for the service, is it not?”
Verian calmly accepted the bill, but his eyes widened at the numbers written on it, and he roared.
“You… you absolute crook! This is highway robbery!”
“He’s right! Verian is a hundred times right!”
Despite their furious shouts, Jace merely shrugged.
“Expensive, you say? I, the Saint, personally cleansed the demonic energy from the minds of you, who are of noble blood. How could that possibly be expensive?”
“…Well.”
“He has a point. My life isn’t that cheap. I’ll just pay it.”
“You switched sides way too fast!”
*I do appreciate how magnanimous those with long ears are.* The Saint offered a thoroughly worldly smile.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that.”
Were ‘elf’ and ‘magnanimous’ words that could even coexist? Pernyan scoffed.
“…Fine.”
Once Aria accepted the bill, Verian could no longer protest. After all, there wasn’t a single flaw in Jace’s logic.
“Then I ask that you settle the payment as soon as possible. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must be on my way.”
“You said you were busy?”
“Yes. With the festival coming up, I have many duties to attend to as the Saint of the Cult…”
The anniversary of the empire’s founding was fast approaching—the day the first emperor defeated King Collomo and declared the establishment of the empire.
A festival would be held at the academy as well, and as the Saint of the Dragon God Cult, Jace had to oversee the event.
“If I find any clues about the Vile Breed, I’ll let you know.”
“I’ll be counting on you.”
Jace disappeared.
“Now then, shall we start again, properly this time?”
Pernyan rested his chin on his hand and glared at Aria and Verian.
“What exactly happened to you two?”
“Um…”
Aria blinked.
“I don’t think anything particular happened. At least, not that I can remember… or did it?”
“…So even if the demonic energy is gone, the memories don’t fully return.”
No, she could recount the events before she lost her memory without issue. It was more accurate to say that her memories from while she was corrupted were hazy.
“What about you, Verian?”
“…I don’t recall anything special either. The only thing that sticks out is that I think I listened to that pointy-ear say the same thing in the same place. Over and over again, just at different times.”
“And what was it she said?”
“Well, it was…”
The answer came from Aria.
“That something was wrong with the Mother Tree! I think. Or was it? Hmm, yes, that must be it. And following your advice, Sunbaenim, I sought out Verian to hire a trustworthy chess piece. Probably?”
Her words allowed Pernyan to form a more concrete conclusion about how the demon was summoned in the original history.
‘They used suggestion on Aria, the one in charge, to prevent her from reporting the anomaly, and proceeded with their plan in the meantime.’
That future had changed with Pernyan’s intervention.
What was originally meant to be known only to Aria and then forgotten had now been passed on to Verian, who had remained on the stage because of Pernyan.
And now, Pernyan and Jace were involved as well.
‘Perhaps…’
The thought that he might be able to stop the summoning of Andromalius right now crossed his mind.
He didn’t know the exact date of Andromalius’s summoning, but he knew it was before the semester began.
It was during the period when students were returning to the academy one by one, and the once-quiet island was regaining its vitality.
There were still two weeks until the start of the semester, and considering not many students had returned yet, there was still some time.
The plan to catch the Vile Breed and prevent the summoning seemed entirely feasible.
Of course, just because it seemed possible didn’t mean he actually intended to do it.
‘Could the Vile Breed be aware of this meeting right now?’
To them, Aria would be a primary target under constant surveillance.
“Tell me. Who have you two met during the break?”
“A great many people. Professor Nania, Professor Elior, Professor Grad, Professor Deoni, TA Miller, TA Aaron, TA Pierce, Sunbaenim Nopen, Sunbaenim Clio, oh, I also saw Professor Valennod! And Professor Rosalia! And…”
Pernyan, who had been diligently writing down the endless stream of names, stopped his pen.
“Are you going to name every single person at the academy?”
“But I met all of them during the break.”
“I’m asking if anyone seemed suspicious.”
“I don’t know. I feel like there was someone, but it’s all hazy, like they’re in a fog.”
Utterly unhelpful. Pernyan’s gaze shifted to Verian.
“It’s the same for me. No one particularly suspicious comes to mind…”
“This is giving me a headache.”
He thought he had found a decent clue, but he was mistaken.
‘Then again, it’s not like they’d be caught so easily.’
These were beings who had operated in the shadows for a long time without leaving a trace. It was unlikely they would leave behind such an obvious trail.
‘Thinking about it that way, the summoning of Andromalius is the complete opposite of their actions so far. That confirms just how dangerous Aint is to them…’
Otherwise, there was no reason for them to act so boldly.
“For now, I suppose we’ll have to check the Branch of the World Tree first.”
It was the only option he had at the moment.
“…Let’s go.”
“Okay!”
“Me as well?”
“No, you’re not needed.”
Pernyan rose from his seat.
* * *
“Oh my goodness, Mother Tree! How did you end up in this state?!”
Aria’s wails were hardly necessary; the condition of the Branch of the World Tree was visibly dire.
The branch and its leaves were stained pitch-black, and even the surrounding earth was corrupted.
By all appearances, the corruption was complete.
And that wasn’t all.
*Crackle—*
“Ouch…!”
When Aria reached out her hand, demonic energy sparked, creating a fierce repulsion. She cried out and stumbled back a step.
“…This is serious.”
The ridiculous part was that despite its condition, there was almost no demonic energy detectable on the surface. He wasn’t sure if it was due to the Vile Breed’s superior concealment magic or a unique property of the Branch of the World Tree.
“Aria, can you purify it?”
“I really hate to say this, but it’s impossible.”
Not a single trace of the forest’s essence remained, Aria explained.
“That is no longer a scion of the Mother Tree, but something else wearing its skin.”
It was similar to an undead. Just because you raised an undead from a corpse didn’t make the undead the same person as the corpse’s original owner.
Although it did inherit some of the original body’s abilities.
“So you’re saying it’s already too late.”
“…It’s my fault. If I hadn’t been so foolish as to fall for their mind magic…! There must have been so many chances to fix this!”
Aria muttered, her eyes bloodshot.
One could guess how important the World Tree was to the elves just from the name they called it.
Pernyan couldn’t dare to imagine how an elf must feel, seeing a scion of that tree corrupted by the Vile Breed.
‘Would it be similar to how I’d feel if I were completely ruined?’
The thought was truly horrifying. *Grind.* Pernyan cursed the Vile Breed and ground his teeth.
“I’ll find whoever did this and tear them limb from limb! I swear it on my name! I’ll make them feel the full weight of the price for daring to touch the Mother Tree!”
So, first!
Aria summoned her staff. The surrounding mana began to gather around her like a storm.
“I’ll help the Mother Tree’s scion find peace.”
“…What?”
At her sudden, impulsive action, Pernyan stepped between her and the corrupted scion.
“Wait a moment, Aria. It’s still a scion of the World Tree. You’re just going to destroy it? You, an elf?”
“It’s a hundred times better to destroy it with my own hands than to let those Vile Breed use its shell. Father would even praise me for doing the right thing.”
*No, he’d probably be furious that a scion of the Mother Tree was completely corrupted by the Vile Breed.* Aria’s expression fell.
“In any case, destroying it is the right thing to do!”
“But that would completely void your contract with the academy. Are you okay with that?”
“…That’s.”
The scion of the World Tree did not belong solely to the elves.
It was the price for a deal made between the academy and the Friedien family, and for Aria to unilaterally decide to destroy it just because something went a little (?) wrong was a rash move.
“…Then what do you suggest we do? Do you have a plan?”
“What were you planning to do?”
“I was going to ease the Mother Tree’s final passing and then report to my father. This is clearly a problem I can’t solve on my own.”
“I have a better idea.”
“What is it?”
“First, we get Jace’s help. And the help of the holy water that healed your mind.”
Aria looked unconvinced.
“Pouring the finest potion on a corpse won’t bring it back to life.”
“This is a different case. It’s a branch of the World Tree.”
“Hmmmm.”
“I also plan to seek Aint’s help. As a direct descendant of the Armians, the natural enemies of demons, he might have a solution. Isn’t it better to hold out some hope than to just give up?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Sensing from her tone that she was halfway convinced, Pernyan nodded.
Contrary to his words, he had no intention of actually healing the branch. His goal was simply to stall for time with all sorts of excuses.
He would leave the World Tree as it was, allowing Andromalius to be summoned.
There would be some damage to the academy, but Aint’s growth was ultimately for the good of all humanity, so it was a beneficial outcome for everyone.
The Branch of the World Tree would become a catalyst for the summoning in the process, but what did he care? If he claimed the demon destroyed the branch, no one could say a thing.
It wasn’t the real World Tree, after all. A mere young scion stood no chance against a demon.
“Trust me. Have you ever lost anything by trusting my words?”
“I haven’t really gained anything, either. It’s not like we have that much history between us.”
That was true. He had spoken out of habit, as if he were talking to Ruina.
Indeed, his approach with Aria needed to be different from his approach with Ruina, with whom he had built trust over the entire first semester.
“Is fighting through a battlefield together not enough?”
“It was a trade escort.”
“To a merchant, one who travels on a trade escort together is a comrade.”
“Not to an elf.”
In that case, he would have to use a method befitting Aria Friedien.
“Very well. Emond Altriark, a Knight Department professor in charge of the third year.”
“What?”
“I’ll introduce you.”
“…Oh.”
After a moment of stunned silence, she instinctively nodded her head.
“Deal!”
He was of the bloodline of the Altriark Margrave family, another pillar supporting the empire.
Although he was far from being the heir, he was of the direct line, and the fact that he carried the Altriark name was what mattered.
“I’ll trust you, Sunbaenim. We’re comrades who fought together, after all.”
“Not because of the connection?”
“I can’t say that has nothing to do with it. Still…”
Aria’s eyes momentarily grew heavy.
“Even if it is just a corpse, I will not stand by and watch the Mother Tree’s branch be used by those demonic fiends. I was being sincere when I said I would rather destroy it with my own hands.”
He could feel her resolve—that she would shatter it immediately if things went even slightly wrong.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
*Ah, and here’s the main point.*
“By any chance, are you skilled in spirit arts?”
“Is that like asking a monkey if it knows how to climb a tree?”
“Help me, and I’ll introduce you to one more person.”
“Who is it?”
Aria’s eyes began to sparkle.