The Weakness of the Dark
In this world, the power of darkness was one of the easiest and fastest ways to gain strength.
People contracted with the dark for their own individual reasons. And though they were kept at arm's length, they were not unconditionally condemned or treated as something that shouldn't exist.
It was only natural. If a magical beast or wild animal were tearing citizens apart, the dying would hardly have the luxury to care what kind of power their savior wielded.
Natural disasters, beasts, and wars had driven countless people to embrace the power of darkness—from margraves and mercenaries to pirates and even certain knights.
However, they possessed a fatal weakness.
"Surely you can think for yourself," I said. "As a knight serving the Erast family, you ought to trust your own judgment rather than whatever words spill from my mouth."
Erast—the family to which Katarin belonged, the Margraves of the Arben Kingdom.
The woman standing before me did not look like a proper knight, but if she served that house, she must at least know how the power of darkness operated.
"But... no, it can't be. Those words... they're just a trick!"
"Of course it's a trick. In that case, I suppose I can take my leave now?"
I had been lucky. She had seen too much—to her own detriment.
Had she entered just a moment later, she would have simply assumed she had caught me red-handed and held my weakness.
Had she not witnessed this at all, she would have spent her time plotting to torment others, obeying her family's orders as she always did.
And had she lacked the ability to sense the flow of dark energy entirely, she would have ended her day in peace, completely oblivious to what had transpired.
"A trick... No. That's impossible. It makes no sense..."
She possessed just enough wisdom to doubt my words, yet lacked the courage to face the truth she didn't want to see.
She was an incredibly unfortunate woman.
"But you did it! Right before my eyes! That... power..."
Countless scholars believed that the Fragment of the Void was a piece of 'pure darkness.'
Only the Demon God could draw power directly from the void; demon kings and archdevils merely borrowed that deity's power.
No matter how powerful a dark mage or Dark Knight was, they were ultimately just borrowing the strength of the archdevil they had contracted with.
That was likely the 'rule of the world' she believed in.
"Is that so?" I asked.
Yet, the female knight before me had witnessed me drawing power directly from the fragment.
There were only two possibilities: either I was the incarnation of the Demon God, or I was a dark mage who had contracted with a demon so powerful they couldn't even fathom it.
Unfortunately for her, she was intelligent enough to deduce those conclusions.
"If so... what will you do?"
"...What?"
"Perhaps you should report this. Aren't you a servant of Lady Katarin? If something like this happens, you should naturally tell your master—"
"N-no! I won't!"
She submitted. All too easily, she fell to her knees.
This was the weakness of those who walked the path of darkness.
Once their will broke, the dark power that had once made them strong turned back to constrict its wielder.
The moment their will faltered even slightly, their dark power forced them to submit to 'the stronger.'
Those who wielded the power of light could resist. No matter how despairing the situation, no matter how hopeless the battle, they could raise their weapons 'for the greater good.'
But these people were different.
They were bound to yield to those who served mightier archdevils, to those who were more cruel and ruthless, to those who were better prepared and more cunning.
It wasn't a simple matter of lacking the strength to fight. A person of indomitable will might somehow find the strength to raise a weapon.
But the dark energy they craved, the demonic power itself, would surrender the moment it sensed a hierarchy of power, regardless of its master's wishes.
"I see," I murmured.
I looked down at the kneeling knight with a faint smile.
"P-please, tell me the name of the one you serve! If only you could tell me whose grace you have received..."
"Well. How should I explain this?"
But I was different.
Just as I could resist the madness of the Fragment of the Void, the emotions I felt had no influence over my dark energy.
"Who should I say I serve..."
There was no need to give her anxiety a concrete shape with clear words.
She was completely mistaken. While my power was by no means weak, it wasn't the overwhelming, absolute force she was imagining.
The raw output of power I could muster right now wasn't weak, but if I were to fight Katarin with this level of strength, I would lose nine times out of ten.
Even so, she was misinterpreting the situation. The ambiguity, the incomprehensibility of it all, was driving her into terror.
"Can't we just say... there is no one?"
I could see her eyes trembling.
It was a statement that could be interpreted as me being the incarnation of the Demon God, or simply that I wished to keep the identity of my contracted archdevil a secret.
"I... understand."
She bowed her head lower.
"We haven't even properly introduced ourselves. What is your name?"
"Kellin... It's Kellin."
"A fine name. Nice to meet you. I'm Wade."
I lightly offered my hand. Kellin took it, her eyes shaking.
"Is there... anything I can do to help you..."
"Not for now. But, well... we're fellow cadets at the Academy, aren't we? I hope we can get along."
"Y-yes, of course!"
It wasn't that she was weak. Her loyalty to the Erast family and her affection for Lady Katarin were undoubtedly genuine.
Yet, she had no choice but to submit.
...This works out well.
If anyone other than Kellin had witnessed this, it could have turned into a massive headache.
"I'll head out first."
Leaving her behind, I casually walked out of the warehouse. Since the night was deep, the guards patrolling the area would likely be dozing off by now.
I had achieved my goal.
"She's late."
In the dark room, dark energy ebbed and flowed like waves.
Katarin's black hair swayed gently in the faint breeze.
"...He wasn't afraid."
That man was strange.
He hadn't been angry at the injustice. Any student at the Academy, even a freshman, should have naturally felt outraged in that situation.
Nor had he been afraid. If he had feared the power of the Erast family or the strength Katarin possessed, he would have bowed his head much lower.
He had done nothing, merely lowering his head as if bored.
"...He's dangerous."
One had to know. Ignorance was a sin.
Just as a murderer must live in fear of their crime being exposed, a dark mage who remained ignorant of their surroundings had to live in fear of when their own throat would be slit.
Perhaps she was overreacting. Maybe he was just too foolish to grasp the situation, or perhaps he was simply dense.
But she could not afford to let her guard down. Her father had always emphasized that the smallest crack could bring down a fortress.
"I will find out soon enough..."
Kellin was not skilled in combat. However, as the maid of a margrave, she possessed more than enough ability to enter the Academy as a cadet.
But Kellin's true value lay in her tight lips and light footsteps—the very skills that had kept Katarin alive inside the margrave's estate, which always felt like walking on thin ice.
Despite acting as her hands and feet for years, gathering rumors and involving herself in conspiracies, Kellin had carried out every task loyally and had never once betrayed Katarin.
This time would be no different.
"I-I apologize for being late. I will gladly accept my punishment."
Her breathing was ragged.
It wasn't the kind of breathlessness that came simply from shaking off pursuers. Katarin felt a strange sense of incongruity.
Kellin was displaying an emotion she had never shown before her mistress.
"Very well. And the mission?"
"...I am sorry."
Something was off. Kellin bowed her head apologetically, but Katarin could think of dozens of reasons why her behavior was strange.
She might have failed. Perhaps she hadn't been able to properly investigate that nameless, arrogant man.
The Academy was a dangerous place. He might have had an absurdly powerful master or patron backing him.
Stories of seemingly ordinary noble ladies turning out to be illegitimate children of the royal family were dime a dozen.
Even so, there was no reason to hide the failure itself.
Yet Kellin kept her head lowered. It wasn't out of guilt for failing, but because she was terrified of meeting her mistress's eyes.
She was hiding something. She was lying. Her loyalty had already crumbled.
What a pity.
To nobles, commoners were nothing more than tools. But to Katarin, Kellin was a tool she had grown quite fond of.
She was a doll worth keeping an eye on so her parents wouldn't throw her away, a doll worth washing clean herself if it gathered even a speck of dust.
In the end, you turned out like this too.
She had returned looking like a completely different person. It was laughable.
There was no way Kellin didn't know how deeply she was encroached by dark energy. And there was no way she didn't know how powerful a dark mage the 'Lady Katarin' standing before her was.
Knowing she couldn't possibly resist anyway, what could she have been promised to make her lie to her master's face?
A faint suspicion crossed Katarin's mind, but she couldn't reprimand her for it just yet.
The semester was about to begin. She needed a maid to attend to her.
For now, it would be best to let Kellin grow arrogant, wallowing in her own stupidity and folly.
Snapping her wings would be a pleasure as sweet as the pain it would bring her.