Chapter 52
Chapter 52
Chapter 52.
The giant's breath carried the stench of demons.
Its crimson eyes burned with hostility, glaring at Aiden as if it wanted to devour him whole.
Aiden clenched his fists.
For a fleeting moment, he considered slaughtering the creature and every heretic in this facility—but that would have been too emotional.
If even one escaped, his identity would be exposed before he could finish Kadak's business. The chances of survival were uncertain either way.
He swallowed his rage. Jude remained silent, mimicking the cultists alongside him.
The giant roared in irritation, its breath hot against Aiden's face.
Its tangled hair brushed against his skin.
Just as the creature bared its fangs, glowing tattoos surfaced across its face. Purple script flared to life, restraining the giant.
It thrashed violently, ramming its head against the corridor walls and howling in frustration.
Aiden pulled the cart back, retreating several paces.
Only after a long while did the crimson light in the giant's eyes fade. Then, it collapsed to the ground with a tremor that shook the earth.
From the opposite side, the gathered cultists screamed at Aiden.
"You bastards! Hurry up and move!"
Jude loudly acknowledged them before glancing at Aiden.
"It seems we're underground."
Aiden nodded.
But the issue wasn't the location—it was the sheer scale.
The vast hall resembled a circular arena, filled with countless staircases and connecting pathways.
Like an anthill.
How was he supposed to find what Kadak left behind—or a way to bring down the Duchy—in this sprawling labyrinth?
Aiden had visited the estate based solely on one route from the original story, where Kadak's legacy played a crucial role in toppling the Duchy.
But he never expected it to be connected to a place like this. Had he known, he would've investigated beforehand—but it was impossible to predict.
Not only did he not know whether he was searching for an object or a method, but the radius was far too wide.
Aiden surveyed the enormous hall. Even if he spent the entire day moving, he wouldn't cover half of it.
The assassination was already successful—he could return to the Empire now. Yet, the reluctance to let this opportunity slip still lingered.
Regret held him back.
But the faster his judgment, the better in situations like this.
As he hesitated, Syron's arm emerged from the cart and poked his stomach.
She peeked out from beneath the white cloth.
"It's glowing. Be careful."
Confused, he followed her pointing finger—and sure enough, a faint light pulsed from his chest.
The black priestly robes darkened into deep indigo.
Elohimderk.
Aiden turned away and carefully pulled out the necklace, ensuring the cultists wouldn't notice.
The blue glow vanished almost instantly.
His rising hope dimmed somewhat, but this gem always had a reason when it shone.
Wondering if it had a hidden function, he tapped and inspected every inch of it.
Nothing happened.
Was there a condition? No way to know right now.
Just as Aiden swallowed his disappointment and turned back toward the hall, the necklace pulsed with blue light again—this time, shooting out a straight beam.
He quickly covered it with his hand and hid it inside the cart.
A glance at the distant cultists confirmed they were too busy to pay attention.
Elohimderk felt like a treasure compass. The beam was clearly pointing somewhere.
The thing he'd abandoned had returned on its own—solving Aiden's dilemma.
It must've been Kadak's design, but he couldn't help finding it endearing. Whatever this was, he shouldn't have carelessly discarded it.
Jude pointed toward a high staircase on the opposite side.
"The divine gaze rests upon that place. While the vermin scatter, perhaps we should move ahead?"
He was right. By now, the Duchy must've realized the culprit wasn't a student—Aiden had left too many traces of holy power at the Magic Academy.
Time wasn't infinite. They had to move.
He stepped toward the hall.
The once-chaotic facility had fallen eerily quiet.
The cultists had left in such a hurry that the interior was left in disarray.
Ominous chambers—clearly meant for handling classified matters—stood wide open, their doors unsecured. Documents littered the corridors.
Taxidermied humans and demi-humans cultivated in glass tubes were exposed in open laboratories.
A disgustingly inhuman organization. Aiden gritted his teeth.
The Baranches cult hadn't been normal either, but the Demon God cult's atrocities surpassed them by far. This wasn't something humans could've created.
Devil-spawn wearing human skin. Even if the Crusader of Evil's Destruction didn't react, the primal revulsion stoked his killing intent.
Jude cautiously spoke to Aiden, whose expression had twisted.
"This way."
They'd arrived where Elohimderk was pointing.
A rectangular frame covered in silver-gray minerals. Likely an entrance, but too ambiguous to call it a door.
Like scattered puzzle pieces.
Jude brushed his hand against the wall.
"It's definitely the entrance, but sealed with extremely high-level magic."
He swallowed hard.
"Even if we tore it out and took it to the Church, we wouldn't be able to decipher it."
Aiden, ignorant of magic, couldn't fully grasp his awe.
At most, he assumed it must be impressive since a Grand Archmage had made it.
But he felt no urgency. Elohimderk's role here was obvious.
"We can enter."
Aiden stepped forward and pressed the necklace against the frame.
No reaction.
After a moment's thought, he channeled holy power into it.
Instantly, countless messages flashed before his eyes. The gem shone brilliantly, bathing the surroundings in blue light.
Simultaneously, the silver-gray minerals began interlocking. They ground together noisily, shedding rocky debris.
Like puzzle pieces finding their place.
Jude gasped at the sight.
"This formula...!"
Aiden had no idea what he was marveling at—probably something about magical complexity.
The noise soon subsided, revealing a pitch-black void in the wall.
Too dark to see inside.
"Let's go."
Aiden pushed the cart in first, with Jude following behind.
After a few steps inside, he glanced down.
"You can come out now."
Syron and Gott threw off the white cloth, gasping for air.
Being stuck with corpses must've made breathing difficult.
Gott immediately illuminated the interior.
An expansive space. A black heart pulsed at the center.
Aside from a single worktable at the far end, the room was barren.
Yet, the presence of the dark heart was so overwhelming that it didn't feel empty at all.
The Crusader of Evil's Destruction went wild.
The core of a high-ranking demon maddeningly provoked Aiden. Even the paladins' faces twisted in horror.
The crimson sigils burning across the black surface symbolized the Archdemon Gusian—one of the primordial evils recorded in the scriptures.
Vein-like tubes extended from the heart, supplying demonic energy like pipelines.
Meaning this was the core—the place that controlled everything in the Duchy.
Jude swallowed hard before speaking.
"If we destroy that..."
The Duchy would collapse.
In short, Kadak had led Aiden here. Did the Grand Archmage want the Duchy to fall? Yet, in most routes, Kadak had sided with them.
The only deviation Aiden had caused was saving Syrin and Deril.
That alone couldn't have changed Kadak's stance.
Aiden avoided looking at the demon heart and scanned the surroundings instead.
A long table stood nearby. He immediately approached and snatched up a random document.
A detailed thesis on human experimentation—authored by Kadak. The other papers were the same.
Reports strewn across the floor were all awaiting the Grand Archmage's approval.
Meaning Kadak was this facility's overseer.
So why had he led Aiden here?
Were Syrin and Deril artificial demi-humans created here? Had Kadak felt remorse and sought redemption?
Nonsense. A man who sacrificed countless lives for experiments wouldn't sympathize with specific individuals.
Even if he had, he would've destroyed this place himself.
Aiden skimmed through the parchments on the desk before forcing open a locked drawer—no magical traps, just brute strength.
Inside were bundled documents. He unfurled and scanned them.
"Before proceeding, this author confesses to being a demi-human..."
Aiden's eyes flickered. His expression shifted repeatedly as he read on.
The paladins picked up each page he discarded, passing them around.
Aiden couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
In short—Deril and Syrin weren't Kadak's disciples.
They were his children.
Quarter-blooded demi-humans.
Moreover, this facility was a research lab Kadak built to cleanse their tainted blood.
Countless specimens were needed, but demi-humans were rare. So he decided to make them.
For years, horrific experiments had been conducted—turning innocent people into hybrids, then trying to revert them back to humans.
Kadak wanted to give his children a human life.
That single conviction had trampled so many lives.
The research remained incomplete. While turning humans into demi-humans was possible, the reverse wasn't.
But then, Elohimderk's chosen hero saved the siblings.
Kadak no longer had a reason to continue.
Such were the records. He also declared repentance—vowing to atone for his remaining days.
What a joke. Nothing could apologize to those already sacrificed.
Their deaths had been meaningless—worse than dogs.
Aiden scowled and read the final section.
"Lastly, to whoever reads this—I bequeath everything to you!"
"See you in the Demon Realm."
The parchment burst into flames, crumbling to ash.
Aiden fell silent for a long moment, staring blankly at the table.
Syron cautiously approached.
"What's wrong?"
Jude and Gott also watched him with puzzled expressions.
For a second, Aiden wondered if they didn't know about Deril and Syrin.
But that couldn't be—he'd submitted a report to the Church about purchasing them.
Come to think of it, none of the messy documents were visible anymore.
Aiden eyed them warily.
"What did you see here?"
The three exchanged confused glances.
Jude spoke first.
"The black heart. It's still intact. We should destroy it soon."
Aiden let out a hollow laugh.
Kadak had played his cards to the end—protecting his children.
If the truth came out, the Church wouldn't spare them, human or not.
Now Aiden understood why this incident was glossed over in the original story.
Their memories had been erased.
Gritting his teeth, Aiden slowly walked toward the black heart.