Chapter 46
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 46
The next morning.
Automated golems arrived at each tent to deliver a broadcast.
[The exams have concluded. All students, please follow the golems' guidance and return to base camp.]
Before long, assistant professors and faculty members dispatched to the various sectors began escorting the students back. The base camp soon buzzed with the frantic chatter of gathered professors and students.
A headcount confirmed that, thankfully, no one was missing.
Assistant Professor Peline tallied the final numbers and reported to the Chairman and Dean Grania.
“Zero fatalities, seventeen injured. Most are minor, and no students are in critical condition.”
“We were incredibly lucky.”
Hearing that no one was seriously hurt, the Chairman let out a hearty laugh and nodded.
“Haha, what did I tell you? I said they would be fine, didn't I? Our students are truly outstanding.”
“……”
Grania was relieved the students were safe, but the Chairman's boasting was as irritating as ever. He shot the man a sharp glare before turning back to the assistant professor.
“How is Professor Verdandi?”
“We received word from the temple that she regained consciousness a short while ago. Her injuries were severe, but all wounds treatable with divine magic have been healed. They say with a few months of rest, she should make a full recovery.”
The news was a massive relief. The Chairman stroked his mustache, looking pleased.
“Huhu, well, we can certainly trust Miss Elena's healing.”
As the woman closest to becoming the next Saint, Elena’s reputation for divine healing was renowned; her skills surpassed those of any priest or doctor in the realm. It seemed she had successfully stabilized Professor Verdandi, even after she had been in critical condition.
“It must be my excellent character that has attracted so many outstanding students during my term. Haha!”
“Tsk.”
Grania clicked his tongue, letting the Chairman's self-praise go in one ear and out the other as he addressed another professor.
“Have you completed the dismantling and analysis of the barrier?”
At his question, the other professors sighed in unison.
“To be honest, there was nothing for us to do. To be more precise, the barrier dispelled itself before we could even touch it.”
“Hmm. So you’re saying you have nothing to show for your efforts?”
“Yes. We couldn't analyze the barrier or the magic circle, nor could we find a medium. It all vanished as if it were a phantom.”
A barrier that had disappeared without leaving a shred of evidence. It was suspicious in the extreme.
Another professor spoke up. “According to some of the students, monsters far stronger than expected appeared. They also reported wandering in circles because of the barrier or being blinded by a thick, unnatural fog.”
“……”
“I just can't figure out their motive,” Professor Martelzier added, frowning. “Who on earth would do such a thing, and why?”
Dean Grania spoke in a calm, measured voice.
“We'll find out who the culprit was soon enough, now that Professor Verdandi—who fought the assailant directly—has woken up. As for the motive, we will conduct a detailed investigation. We must trace the flow of mana to discern their intent.”
Grania’s calm leadership quickly brought order to the chaotic situation.
“Um, forgive me for interrupting, but… Professor Verdandi says she doesn't remember much about the culprit.”
“What?”
“According to Elena's diagnosis, she appears to be suffering from partial memory loss…”
*
Freya slowly opened her eyes.
A pure white ceiling met her gaze. Bright sunlight streamed through a nearby window, and a crisp white blanket covered her body.
She blinked blankly for a moment, then suddenly bolted upright, her hand instinctively reaching for her waist. She fumbled at her side, but her fingers found no belt and no scabbard.
What happened?
She remembered facing a powerful enemy in the forest. That being of unfathomably immense power had retreated, but the monstrous demon he left behind had remained.
Roen had been struck by that creature, collapsing in a pool of blood, and she had been attacked next. She clearly remembered being sent flying by the force of its blow.
But this wasn't the forest of the Howling Mountains; it was an infirmary. Judging by her surroundings, she had been rescued, but she had no idea what had transpired after she lost consciousness.
My sister? And Roen…?
Just as Freya threw off the blanket to get out of bed—
“Good, you're awake.”
“!”
Swish—.
Freya pulled back the curtain of her sickbed to find a figure leaning back in a chair by the window.
Uncommon black hair. Deep eyes that looked weary for some reason.
It was the man who was once her fiancé.
Roen Devalis.
She couldn't be sure, but it seemed he had been watching over her while she was out.
Thud.
He closed the book he was reading and spoke.
“The priest and the doctor say there's nothing wrong with your body. The same goes for Verdandi. They say she'll recover soon, so there's no need to worry.”
As Roen calmly relayed the information, Freya gave a rare, dumbfounded reply.
“Ah…”
She took a moment to collect her thoughts before speaking again.
“Thank you. By any chance… what happened with the battle?”
The demon the assailant had summoned from the coffin—Roen had been wounded by it, and she had fainted while fighting it. When she asked, Roen answered as if it were a trivial matter.
“Just in time, some nearby golems swarmed the area and took care of it. We got lucky.”
“…Golems.”
It sounded suspicious, but she had no way to verify his claim.
“Then, what about the being who caused this incident? And the subsequent investigation?”
The magical being who had identified himself as Gilean. At her question, Roen's gaze hardened as he got to the point.
“Good question. I have something important to discuss with you regarding him.”
*
The Howling Mountains.
Whoosh—.
As Gilean reached out his hand, a jet-black stone lying on the ground floated up and was sucked into a rift in space.
“This is the last of them.”
He had recovered all the Dark Mana Stones scattered throughout the mountains. Just as he finished his mission, the undergrowth rustled.
Rustle—.
Tormon, one of Gilean's subordinates, pushed through the brush and approached to give his report.
“Lord Gilean. I have handled everything as commanded. The suppression of the professor, the dismantling of the barrier, and the cleanup afterward.”
“You've done well.”
Tormon gave a slight nod, then hesitated. “But Lord Gilean… was it really necessary for us to be deployed for such a low-level task?”
It was true that Dark Mana Stones contained significant demonic energy, but that was merely the common perception. To those active at the heart of the Demonic Path, they were nothing special. It didn't seem like a matter that required a member of the Twelve Honored Ones to act personally, nor was it something worthy of breaking a long-held seal to boldly invade the Union.
Tormon's face wrinkled in a frown. “And while we were there, wouldn't it have been better to just kill that brat and the professors? They are bound to become our enemies in the future.”
Professor Verdandi, the assistants from Ishtal, the daughter of the Gunhild family, and the youngest son of the Devalis family—all were highly likely to oppose them. It seemed only right to nip them in the bud. If they didn't kill them today, the Union's security would be tightened, and an opportunity like this wouldn't come again.
To simply incapacitate them and release a low-level demon… it was hard to understand.
Gilean nodded slowly. “Such a question is only natural. It is rational. However…” He raised his gaze to the sky. “A human's fate is decided by the heavens. It will be carried out at the most fitting time and in the most fitting way. At least for today, it was not their fate to die. Furthermore, their connections will one day become a fine offering for the succession ritual. There is no need to be so hasty, Tormon. What is meant to happen will happen.”
“……”
Tormon didn't fully grasp the philosophy, only the conclusion: they hadn't acted because the timing wasn't right. He understood that their lives were spared only because they would be useful for something else later.
Swoosh—.
Gilean knelt on one knee and caressed the forest soil.
Fzzt—.
Where his hand touched, the demonic energy that had dissipated into particles floated up. Gilean read the memory of the space from that energy, vividly replaying the battle between the demon and the boy in his mind's eye.
Gilean processed the memory and spoke softly.
“I see… So there was a reason ‘He’ commanded me to watch.”
Tormon, watching from the side, tilted his head. “Forgive my impertinence, but his power doesn't seem that great.”
The power to absorb the energy of darkness and kill a demon in a single blow—the power Roen displayed was certainly considerable, but compared to the true powerhouses of the continent, it was like a candle before the sun. It was by no means a strength that could meet His standards.
Gilean replied in a calm voice. “What matters is not strength, but ‘qualification’.”
“Qualification?”
“That's right. And he is qualified.”
With that, Gilean stood up. He looked at the image of Roen in the spatial memory and smiled quietly.
He smiled at the boy who would one day stand on their side.
Perhaps, at the one who would become their new king.
*
The aftermath of the incident was handled smoothly.
Verdandi took responsibility for the incident under the pretext of negligent supervision and received a three-month suspension. In truth, it was less of a punishment and more of a considerate gesture to allow her to recover from her injuries in peace.
Although the culprit was not identified, the scale of the incident made it practically a natural disaster. No professor, not even Verdandi, would have had the power to stop what happened. Furthermore, the evaluation for this practical exam was postponed until countermeasures could be devised.
It was a little disappointing since I'd worked hard to collect mana stones, but it was fine. I had gained something much greater.
This incident clearly showed me the power and potential Roen possesses.
Of course, while this ability was undeniably powerful, it wasn't a convenient power I could use at will. It was a power based on demonic energy—an ability that must never be revealed to others. I was lucky there were no witnesses this time, but there's no guarantee I'll be so fortunate in the future.
It also seemed to be related to a new system within the [Half-Human, Half-Demon] trait called [Affinity].
It said an event would occur if it reached 0 or 100.
I narrowed my eyes as I examined the status window. Looking at the log, the Affinity score had been gradually decreasing ever since I possessed Roen. However, when I accepted the demonic energy and gained power, the log showed the Affinity score shot up to 100.
I don't know the exact criteria yet, but it seems to be strongly correlated with contact with demonic energy.
Extrapolating from this, it seemed I could use this power anytime, provided I could make contact with demonic energy. But I couldn't rely solely on this ability; it was unclear how much energy was needed to reach 100, or what the exact criteria for raising the Affinity score were. Plus, being unable to use it when others were watching made it practically useless for daily life.
Therefore, I had to keep this as a hidden trump card—a last resort—and continue to train my own physical prowess.
I closed the status window and nodded slowly.
I'll have to continue my training as planned.
Enhancing artifacts and items using the [Alchemy] trait. Steadily training my body with the martial artist class-change bonus. Hatching and raising the Dark Spirit. And finally, activating the use of normal magic by using the magic orb containing Bell's Extreme Flame.
This last method was especially important. The incident had given more weight to my plan to use Bell's Extreme Flame to neutralize the trait of my Severed Yin Meridians.
After all, I was able to use magic freely during the previous battle.
It seemed that becoming a demon changed one's original constitution; the moment the Severed Yin Meridians trait disappeared due to my demonization, all restrictions on magic were lifted. This meant there was a high probability that neutralizing the Severed Yin Meridians with Bell's Extreme Flame would produce a similar effect.
This was good news. Of course… there was also bad news.
Gilean.
He and the other Twelve Honored Ones had begun to move. According to the storyline I knew, it wasn't yet time for them to become active. If my conversation with Director Lee had caused changes in the timeline, the information I had might not be as reliable as I thought.
For now, to prevent a sudden uproar, Freya and I agreed to keep the details of the encounter quiet. Even circumstantial information related to Gilean could cause mass panic.
However, the matter was too significant to be buried completely. I decided to inform just one high-ranking official—the most trustworthy person I knew with the power to actually solve the problem.
*
“Haha! So, the most trustworthy person you chose, Roen, was…”
“Yes. It's you, Mr. Chairman.”