Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Jester
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‘Why the hell is this popping up?’
I had my doubts, but my hands didn’t stop as I shoved all the Tier 2 Shards I was holding into the core.
My Unique Ability only activated during boss fights.
Which meant this message was telling me I was about to face a boss.
Judging by the timing of the message, turning the corner of this alley would bring me face-to-face with whatever counted as a boss here.
‘What kind of boss would pop up in a place like this…?’
In the original story, most bosses holed up in boss rooms.
Even Tartarus, the Evil God of the final dungeon, was like that.
So it wouldn’t be a monster.
Maybe an assassin from the noble faction?
No, not them either.
The conflict between the imperial family and the nobles hadn’t escalated that far yet, and even if it had, they wouldn’t go so far as to target the Lady of the Ren Family in the middle of the night.
Plus, considering my current relationship with Viktor, the odds of me being targeted were slim.
That left only one possibility.
‘…A bishop?’
The Cult of Tartarus—also known as the Evil God’s cult—was a villainous group that actively sabotaged humanity’s attempts to clear the Evil God’s Dungeons.
Their hallmarks: every member wielded demonic energy, the Evil God’s creation, instead of mana, and they’d turn into monsters at the drop of a hat.
Among them, the boss-tier ones were the so-called ‘Seven Bishops.’
Yeah, that had to be it. In the original story, aside from monsters, nobles, and a few special events, bosses were exclusively them.
The problem was the timing.
According to canon, bishops didn’t show up until at least the second year, so I hadn’t been worrying about it yet.
Where the hell did this snowball come from?
“Why the sudden change? Something wrong?”
But the real issue wasn’t the bishop’s appearance—it was our specs.
Even the weakest bishop required at least two Tier 3 Shards to take down.
And factoring in their phase 2 monster transformation? No chance without top gear.
‘If only I’d at least grabbed the Shatter Sword…’
I instinctively glanced back.
We hadn’t encountered the boss yet.
Could I still run?
“Wait, follow me.”
“Huh? W-Why?”
“Forgot something at the restaurant.”
I grabbed Cecilia’s hand and retraced our steps exactly.
But the moment we rounded the corner—
‘……Fuck.’
What stretched out before us was the exact alley we’d just been standing in.
“What… what’s going on? Why are we back here?”
Déjà vu crashed over me.
‘It’s just like with Barhatan.’
The door to the vanished waiting room.
The vanished path back.
I’d been through this once before, so I knew even if I didn’t want to.
In a situation like this, the only option was to press forward.
I immediately handed Cecilia a White Shard and a Black Shard.
“Remove everything but the Blue Shards and slot these in.”
“No, why all of a sudden? And what was that just now?! If you know something, explain!”
“I sense killing intent beyond that alley. Looks like we walked into a trap.”
Of course, I didn’t sense any killing intent at all, and it felt less like we’d fallen into a trap and more like I’d tripped into my own noose.
But this was the cleanest way to sum up the situation without a boring, long-winded explanation.
Fortunately, Cecilia didn’t brush off my words.
She hardened her expression and swapped her Shards without a peep.
Then she paused and said,
“…You seem tense. That’s not like you.”
“…”
“Do you know who it is? Are they strong?”
Strong?
Sure, I’d gotten wrecked by Barhatan without a plan too.
But back then, I’d had at least a sliver of a chance to win.
A faint optimism that maybe, just maybe, I could pull it off.
Bishops were different.
Win rate: 0%.
Even if I spammed Rewind for all it was worth, even if I twisted my body into knots, there was no path to victory.
As I racked my brain, Cecilia asked,
“What if… we run?”
When I shook my head, she added,
“Then we have no choice but to fight?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then let’s go.”
I looked up to see Cecilia already loosening up, prepping for battle.
“If we have to do it anyway, we do it, right?”
Those eyes stared straight at me.
Her expectant expression drew a hollow chuckle from me.
No, Lady Cecilia, you didn’t play the original game.
I did. And we can’t win this.
I couldn’t exactly say that.
Then it hit me.
Wasn’t that supposed to be my line?
Why was she saying it instead?
I took a deep breath.
Exhaled slowly, steeling myself.
‘If we’re going by the bishops who show up a year from now, yeah, no way we win.’
Flip that around: this was a year early for a bishop to appear, so he couldn’t be at full power either.
No reason to panic preemptively.
Even if I did, it wouldn’t change a thing.
So what now?
Time to move.
“Yeah. Let’s slot ’em in.”
As I stepped forward first, Cecilia nodded and fell in beside me.
Not behind this time.
“…W-Wait?! What did you just say?!”
Oh. Did I say that out loud?
⁎⁎⁎
Rounding the corner revealed a chilling scene.
A single shadowy figure cloaked in darkness.
And a man dangling from its hand.
“Sp… Spare…”
A brief death rattle, and the man’s body went limp.
The instant his breath stopped, vitality drained from his corpse and flowed into the shadow.
My dreaded prediction had hit the mark.
Bishops could convert others’ life force into demonic energy for their own power.
“Oh?”
A frivolous voice echoed from the darkness.
Not familiar, but not entirely new either.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Sir Halibal! Ha ha, what a coincidence. Running into you again after just a few hours. Is this fate?”
It was the man we’d bumped into at the doll workshop earlier.
No wonder it felt familiar.
“…”
But seeing him up close made me grimace despite myself.
‘This guy’s a bishop? Then I’m the idiot for letting him slip away?’
No bishop in my memories had a face like that.
Then his hair began losing color, turning snow-white. His gaunt cheeks filled out, revealing a familiar visage.
Now I remembered for sure.
‘So this is the Jester.’
The Seven Bishops, each representing one of the seven dungeons.
This one was the weakest: Seventh Bishop, ‘Jester’ Malias Gerren.
He was called the Jester because, in the original story, he infiltrated the academy as an instructor during the second year, sowing discord and chaos among the students.
He even made the protagonist’s party turn on each other with suspicion.
He ultimately got exposed and killed, but as the first bishop to surface, his impact was huge.
So why hadn’t I recognized him?
Simple: Canon Malias had white hair, a sturdy build, and no monocle.
Nothing like this blond, scrawny impression, so no wonder.
He was probably shifting to his canon appearance by absorbing life force just now.
Running into a bishop at a time like this.
Hopeless situation, sure—but weirdly, that gave me hope.
‘He hasn’t gathered all his power yet.’
In the original, the bishops began operating in the shadows right around the start of Louisdel’s first-year first semester.
They roamed the empire for a year, draining innocent lives and building strength before revealing themselves.
But this Malias?
Hair wasn’t fully white, build still skinny.
Above all, no trace of the ‘indescribable demonic energy’ from canon.
‘Might actually have a shot.’
Canon Malias was a top-tier agent of chaos, dealing massive damage to the academy.
Three instructors even fell to him.
So yeah, catching him now, while we could, was obviously the better play.
If possible.
“But Sir Halibal, did you come to give me your autograph?”
Cecilia’s face twisted in fury at his casual attitude after slurping up a whole person.
She’d seen with her own eyes that this man was no ordinary human.
“You… follower of the Evil God?”
“Oh! Come to think of it, the Lady of the Ren Family is with you! Sorry I couldn’t greet you properly earlier!”
“Shut up! I have nothing to say to scum like you!”
One nagging issue: why hadn’t this happened when we met at the workshop?
Right on cue, an answer slipped from his mouth.
“If you’d sign mine, could you do some for my acquaintances too? I mentioned running into Sir Halibal, and they all lost their minds!”
Acquaintances had to mean the other bishops.
So earlier, it was just a chance encounter for him too. Being in the cult, he couldn’t act freely.
But in the meantime, he’d checked with the cult, and they’d greenlit me. Something like that?
‘If I hadn’t stopped by the workshop today, this wouldn’t have happened.’
And if so, I should’ve prepped for Malias’s appearance next year.
Talk about a mixed bag.
“S-Sir Halibal! Are you mad?! I didn’t say too much, did I?!”
Even now, his mouth wouldn’t stop flapping.
Seemed like he was leaning into the Jester persona, but I had zero interest in playing along.
I drew my sword, and Cecilia followed suit.
Seeing I wouldn’t respond, his lips curved into a crescent moon.
“Ha, ha ha! Amazing! Isn’t this our second meeting? And you’re already giving me the cold stare—like I’m some monster!”
“Aren’t you?”
“No, doesn’t matter! I’m thrilled! For the Sword of Mourning—who wounded our bishop—to point her blade at a fan like me in person! Any chance of a fan service funeral dirge?!”
“I’ll think about it after you’re dead.”
“Ah…! That won’t do!”
Immediately, crimson-black energy spread from his fingertips.
Overflowing demonic energy.
“I haven’t gathered all my power yet… but I’m not losing to the likes of you.”
With an exaggerated flourish, he floated into the air.
“Too bad, the song’ll have to wait! Tonight’s stage is this alley, and the cast of three is plenty, right?”
“…”
“Of course, if there’s a next time!”
Cecilia and I exchanged a glance.
No need for chit-chat.
“Tartarus Cult, Seventh Bishop Malias Gerren—now takes the stage with Sir Halibal!”
Demonic energy pulsed out from him.
The wave engulfed the entire alley, reshaping it into a new space.
Soon after, it clashed with my sword and shattered like glass.
And the battle began.
‘That must’ve been Jester’s Domain.’
Malias unleashed a power from the start of combat that slowed enemies’ movements around him.
Jester’s Domain.
Its effect: a wide-area slow.
The top-tier bishops among the seven were unbeatable monsters, even accounting for the one-year gap.
That narrowed my prep targets to three, including Malias.
So I’d already planned for Jester’s Domain.
By upping the Black Shard ratio on me and Cecilia, ensuring we wouldn’t lose first turn even under slow.
Ten Black Shards worth.
And I’d even slotted Black Cloud.
But then an anomaly hit.
A red gem floated above Malias’s head.
‘Even ten isn’t enough speed?’
No, that wasn’t it—I realized soon enough.
A small blue gem hovered over Cecilia’s head, and an even smaller, fainter one over mine.
If it was just slowed speed, Malias’s next turn should’ve been mine.
But the order was: Malias → Cecilia → me.
The implication was clear.
‘It’s not slowing speed.’
“Ha ha ha! No audience makes the stage feel empty. Guess I’ll have to summon some!”
Malias swung his hand, and four dolls dropped from thin air.
They absorbed demonic energy and twisted into grotesque monsters.
Four more red gems appeared, slotting between Cecilia and Malias.
“First target’s obviously Sir Halibal! Tear him apart!”
At Malias’s shout, the four monsters lumbered slowly toward me.
Canon Jester’s Domain slowed everyone but himself.
No reason those sluggish monsters should move before Cecilia.
Meaning Jester’s Domain’s effect had changed from canon.
“Halibal!”
Before Cecilia could move, sharp teeth sank into my arm.
In the pain, I finally grasped the truth.
‘……This is Trick Room.’
It wasn’t slowing me down.
The slower ones got first turn.
Trick Room, in short.
That was Jester’s Domain’s new effect.