Cleanup (1)
Sylvia had fallen into a deep sleep. Her breathing was steady and rhythmic—huff, huff.
I laid her down in a safe spot. Then I turned to face the enemy.
The Ash Baron.
It glared at me with twisted eyes, but it didn't feel particularly threatening.
In truth, the fact that it had parasitized Mahkwin's body was a boon to me.
"Foolish creature."
─…
"Why did you swallow something so ill-suited to you?"
It was incomplete. It seemed to control about seventy percent, but the remaining thirty was still Ruina's domain. It had devoured too exceptional a named individual.
"You know it too. You cannot challenge me with that flesh."
Besides, the vow coiled within her body remained intact.
It could do me no harm.
"A dead end, parasite."
─…!
I spoke with a sneer. At my contempt, it convulsed. Its pitch-black pupils flared savagely.
And in the very next moment.
It played a card even I hadn't anticipated.
Kwaaaaa—!
The baron burst from Ruina's body. Currents of ash enveloped it, billowing outward in all directions. It engulfed me like a massive storm, revealing grotesque faces within.
─Yes. I was foolish.
The Ash Baron spoke from the air. It grinned wickedly.
─But you are different.
It seeped straight into me. Its particles were absorbed into my body. A savage voice, as if tearing from the depths of my chest, surged up.
─How dare a nobody call me a parasite!
It was a profoundly unpleasant sensation. It probed my subconscious, dredging up scattered memories like grains of sand.
I answered calmly.
"…Think again. This is for your sake."
─You're nothing! I can easily consume someone like you!
I closed my eyes gently.
Memories of the past, all manner of dark misdeeds, malignant emotions. Deculein's ego raced through my veins.
…Enduring it all.
I asked softly.
"Can you bear it?"
─…
The Ash Baron fell silent. I could clearly see its panic.
I simply smiled.
"Frustration, jealousy, envy, rage, resentment, hatred…"
An ego unswayed by any illusion or impulse.
"Such petty cries are almost elegantly classical."
Deculein was never one to 'collapse from within.'
─…Kraaaaa!
The Ash Baron thrashed inside me. It struggled to escape. I did not allow it.
"Baron. Speak."
Open—! Open—!
"Who lurked beneath you?"
I was merely curious.
Who it had encountered in the depths of my consciousness.
"Was it Kim Woojin? Or Deculein?"
────!
The baron's scream gradually morphed into a beast's howl. It crumbled to ruin, swept away by Deculein's ego.
"Whoever it is, take note."
Despite its frenzy, my mind remained serene as a lake.
"That abyss will be your grave."
There was no reply. It would never return.
The Ash Baron vanished like that.
Not absorbed by me. Not assimilated.
It had simply been crushed by the 'ego' filling this vessel.
"Tch. Pathetic idiot."
No other being can exist within me.
That is Deculein.
"…"
I looked at Ruina, collapsed on the floor.
The body the Ash Baron had discarded lay exhausted in slumber.
[23rd Floor: External Invited Professor Ruina]
"This… how could…"
Only then did she realize it hadn't been a dream.
Faint memories resurfaced of what she had done under its domination.
"Ruina von Schlot Mahkwin."
"!"
A voice called her name. Startled, Ruina whirled around.
There stood her family's nemesis.
"…Deculein."
His slate-blue eyes fixed on her, unyielding and direct.
He spoke.
"This scene is no dream. It is the deed you wrought alongside 'that one.'"
"…Yes. I know."
Ruina bowed her head. She let out a faint sigh.
"I know it all…"
Now, her body and mind were utterly spent.
No drive remained. Only bleak despair.
Suddenly, regret washed over her.
Should she have bowed her head from the start?
Should she never have resisted?
If she'd groveled like other mages, it wouldn't have been this grueling.
"I won't run. I'll turn myself in. It's my fault."
The best choice in this situation.
Ruina wiped her tears, speaking weakly.
"No."
But Deculein shook his head.
He looked down at her pityingly.
"That isn't part of the contract. Is breaking promises a hobby of yours?"
"…"
"If so, it is a truly loathsome trait."
Anger surged in Ruina.
"Then! What the hell should I—"
"Remember what I said."
Deculein cut her off.
To her ragged breaths, he continued methodically.
"You are to become the head professor… no."
He closed his eyes briefly, correcting himself.
"You will become head professor. No matter what."
"…In this situation, what are you—"
"Is all this your fault?"
Deculein smirked. A scorn bordering on contempt. But not aimed at her.
"Of course, one cannot say you bear no blame. Yet consider this. Blaming yourself changes nothing. The world does not shift if you weep; your tears merely flow unnoticed. It pays you no heed. It simply forgets."
"…"
"But if you declare it not your fault, then it is not."
Ruina couldn't grasp his meaning.
"I will make it so."
Thud, thud. Deculein approached.
His shoes halted just before her knees.
"Ruina."
He called her name, so she looked up.
"Yukline does not discard those it embraces."
He extended a hand to her wretched, sprawled form.
"If you take my hand."
In his blue eyes, she saw herself smeared in soot. Pathetic, endlessly shameful.
Yet Deculein paid it no mind.
"Neither will I release you."
His pristine glove sought her ash-caked hand.
"That is Yukline's bulwark."
Shwaaaaa…
The Magic Tower's windows, cleared of ash.
Beyond the revealed sky, dawn light poured in. Radiant beams incinerated the darkness.
"…"
Ruina fell silent.
No, she numbly grasped his hand. Instinct moved her.
"…"
Deculein nodded wordlessly.
Raised to her feet, Ruina watched him. He strode through the ash-choked center.
Ash crumbled underfoot, spreading like mist.
Particles swirled thickly in the breeze.
Yet he remained unsullied. Not a hint of disarray.
Watching him, Ruina felt a small wonder.
When did that man's back grow so broad?
Has he been training diligently?
"Good grief…"
…Absurd as it was, Ruina burst into laughter.
The day after the Magic Tower was seized by ash—what came to be called the 'Ash Heap Terror.'
"Hahaha. Indeed. Of course, of course."
The Jefferson family—producers of successive Directors of Justice and Interior, with their grandfather even serving as Minister—was a self-proclaimed fountain of success through the pen. Today, they buzzed with sudden visitors.
"As expected of the professor~"
A rising continental powerhouse had called.
"Naturally. I have no doubt this report is falsified. Lady Ruina is kind-hearted, after all. Oh, this is Viscount Derin."
"An honor to meet you! I am 'Lopez Derin,' currently Deputy Director of the Justice Department."
"A man of exceptional talent. And a fan of the professor, so despite my impropriety, I introduced him… Oh my~ What a generous gift~!"
Jefferson and Lopez accepted the professor's modest present.
A clear token of sincerity.
Nothing legally amiss.
The two smiled warmly, then heard his main point.
…
At Deputy Director Lopez's mansion, post-meeting with the professor. He made a call.
"Ah, my friend, well met? Nothing urgent. I have someone to introduce. Come discreetly, quietly."
Deputy Director Lopez summoned a few to assist with his 'minor errand' via crystal orb. He grinned in satisfaction.
"Hahaha. To forge ties with the professor like this. A divine sign my directorship is near… Lately, fortune favors me!"
…
"An honor, Professor. I am Geron, Personnel Director of Justice."
"Alberg, Deputy Director of Interior."
"Haha. Sit, all. You're making our professor uncomfortable."
A gathering arranged by Lopez.
Geron and Alberg bowed deeply before sitting. The nameless professor handed them a single report.
"Hm. This is it. Yes, naturally. Rumors abound already. The trial, if held, will conclude without issue."
Yet the professor seemed displeased even by the notion of a trial.
Geron and Alberg hastily amended.
"…Quite so! But we wish to proceed as the professor desires. Minor issues aside, we'll handle Security."
…
Alberg, Geron, Lopez, Jefferson.
The quartet of bureaucrats visited Deputy Director Lilia Premien's office.
"Deputy Premien. I have words for you today."
"No business with you lot. Out."
"Now, now, Deputy! Hear the proposal first."
Premien's face screamed what vermin are these, but their words shifted her expression slightly.
"Refuse, and that professor will visit you himself."
To Premien, 'that professor' was a tough mark, and she owed him a minor debt.
After deliberation, she nodded reluctantly.
…
Finally, today.
All preparations complete, yet an unexpected snag. Jefferson spoke cautiously via crystal orb.
"Yes. Apologies. A snag. Some overzealous justice-seeker…"
…
"From Justice. Capable, but arrogant. Insists on thorough probe of this report…"
…
"No need for your direct involvement. We'll handle… Ah, yes. Apologies. His name is Joseph."
…
Joseph was a senior court official.
Born to minor nobility near-commoner stock, his brilliance let him pass the Justice Exam youngest ever, entering the courts.
Though his connections lagged his talent—no friends for casual check-ins.
"Such a humble abode for one so esteemed…"
Today, a university professor visited his modest home. No ordinary academic; the presence was overwhelmingly intimidating.
"Sit."
He acted as if master of the house. Joseph accepted it naturally.
As Joseph sat, the professor proffered the report.
"The Magic Tower Ash Heap incident report."
"Yes."
Joseph skimmed it swiftly.
"I've reviewed it. But claiming suspect Ruina bears zero fault is problematic. A fairer analysis is…"
"Ren."
The professor gestured to his attendant behind Joseph. Ren approached in a stride, placing a long box on the wooden desk.
The ornate case masked the desk's scars.
Joseph frowned.
"A bribe?"
"…"
The professor's face hardened. He inhaled, crossing his legs. The gestures pressed heavily on Joseph.
"Your tongue is rather rude."
"I've heard 'honest' often—"
"Directness and rudeness are distinct. Wouldn't you agree?"
"…"
Joseph bowed silently. His shoulders hunched instinctively. Animal instinct.
Renowned for integrity in the courts, yet this professor's gaze was oddly hard to meet.
"Apologies. But if not a bribe, what is it?"
"An opportunity."
"…Opportunity?"
"Indeed. A chance to become my man."
The professor tapped the report.
"I wonder if your intent to scrutinize this is the issue."
"No. Thorough investigation is needed. The site probe was unfair, and crucially, no interrogation of Professor Ruina—"
"For such fairness,"
The professor interrupted.
"You should have no family."
Joseph's eyes widened. The professor leaned back expressionlessly. His skewed gaze pierced Joseph.
"Your son is six."
"…"
"How delightful, love."
Joseph was speechless. His breaths grew ragged.
"One so fair as you—do you love your child, wife, and strangers equally?"
Involuntarily, Joseph glanced at the bedroom door. Where wife and child awaited.
The professor said.
"I know well. You differ from rotten officials. Righteous."
"…"
"Thus, I repeat: not a bribe, an opportunity."
The professor's eyes raked Joseph top to bottom. Noting his clenched fists.
"You know justice from below avails nothing."
"…"
Joseph's lips sealed tight. His wrinkles told all.
"Then, until next time."
The professor rose. Wife and child, timing it perfectly, followed to bid farewell.
He merely smiled, exiting the mansion.
Then boarded the waiting car outside.
"Did he take it?"
Deculein asked Ren after a pause.
Ren nodded, eyes closed. His senses pierced Joseph's home.
"Yes. He opened the box. His wife saw the contents."
"He'll take it."
Such a man wouldn't accept cash. Even if he did, he wouldn't use it.
Thus, the gift was for the child.
Exclusive entry to the Imperial Academy
Full tuition coverage for life
"Yes. They're arguing now…"
─Do you know what Imperial Academy admission means?! Even money can't buy it!
─Just think about it!
─What's to think?! Our child could…
"A matter of time."
"Indeed."
Deculein nodded.
Not money, not jewels— even the steadfast yield surprisingly easily. Especially 'privileges' for their child.
Wheedling is tedious, uncertain.
This is my way to quash incidents, forge connections.
Joseph—a treasure stumbled upon.
His aura of 'Tycoon Financier' was exceptionally rare.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
The car glided smoothly under Ren's drive.
…The feared trial never came.
Justice, Interior, and Security stamped Deculein's—along with his subordinate professors and debutantes'—report [Investigation Complete]. Witnesses uniformly favored Ruina. The incident closed as solely the deed of the parasitic spirit 'Ash Baron.'
We understand the Magic Tower incident. However, an Imperial Tutor Mage requires flawless mental fortitude. Thus, Ruina von Schlot Mahkwin is stripped of her position as Imperial Tutor Mage…
Thus, the incident's price: dismissal from Imperial Tutor Mage, and sincere apologies to the debutantes who suffered on her account.
No deaths proved pivotal, of course.
"…Hah."
Ruina smiled bitterly, gazing at her office.
[47th Floor: Ruina's Office]
For some reason, she had become the professor who fought the Ash Baron to the end, ultimately devoured—fulfilling her duty. Her office had risen 25 floors.
"So this is politics."
Deculein's machinations, no doubt.
Truly, his influence awed.
"Hm…"
Ruina surveyed the 47th floor view. Far vaster and cleaner than the 23rd.
She sat at the desk, taking up her fountain pen. First, reply to the imperial missive.
"…"
Mulling phrases, suddenly.
"Five years."
The timeframe surfaced.
"Why?"
A clause puzzling since the contract.
Five years.
Not one, not ten, not lifetime—why five?
"…He secluded for a week."
Ruina jotted notes, pondering. Deculein's seclusion was notorious; she knew of it.
"Rumors say he changed after."
A week's seclusion.
The turning point for Deculein.
Then, some shocking event in that week?
No, even without shock, curiosity gnawed.
What incident made obsessive Deculein ignore all for a week?
…Then.
A word flashed in Ruina's mind.
"No way…?"
She tapped the scrawled word with her pen.
If terminal, five years made sense. Even the sudden change held plausibility.
Anyone facing imminent death might…
"…Nah. Ridiculous."
Ruina forced a laugh, tucking the paper in a drawer.