Tracing the Serpent's Tail
Although I had brought up Conrad, I had no intention of immediately storming his quarters to take him down.
"Where are we going?"
Lilian asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"The place Victor told me about."
"But he didn't give you a specific location, did he? He only vaguely mentioned who he met..."
"That's more than enough."
There were quite a few people who sympathized with Kazot's cause.
If not for the minor detail of them being a secret terrorist organization, about half of the students in this madness-driven Academy would have joined them in a heartbeat.
While my knowledge of the game didn't reveal the 'prospective members,' it did tell me who the 'active Kazot members' currently operating were.
"Because I've already gathered enough information."
Besides, once I caught their tail, figuring out which active Kazot member was pulling the strings was only a matter of time.
"One last check. Claire. The magic tool I gave you, is it working properly?"
"Yep! It's sucking up my mana pretty fast, but... I think it'll hold out for a few hours!"
Claire chirped confidently.
"Lilian. Keep your eyes peeled. Make sure you remember everything. An elf's eyes will serve as invaluable evidence."
"Even if you say that, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do..."
Lilian tilted her head in confusion.
"Olivia. Watch your words and actions from now on. Use the most honorable language you can, and carry yourself with dignity."
"...I see no reason why I should have my honor managed by the likes of you."
"I'll give you what you want, so just do as I say. You won't lose anything by it."
I hadn't expected to drag Olivia into this, but I didn't have many cards to play. I had to use every hand available to me.
"...I assume this is an important matter, but do you truly trust everyone here?"
"To some extent."
Kellin tilted her head, but she didn't slow her pace.
Her feelings toward me were certainly far from affection, but she still trusted my power.
The power of a dark mage who could draw dark magic from a Fragment of the Void through unknown means.
"...Explain. I thought this ended with Conrad and Victor?"
Olivia demanded, her voice laced with frustration.
"There's one more player involved. An organization that wants to tear the Academy apart."
"Who on earth is it?!"
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't know them... but well, if you're curious, there's no harm in hearing it. It's Kazot."
This wasn't a simple murder case. Everyone was dancing in the palm of their hand.
Conrad had intentionally set up his own 'lackey' to be killed by Fabian. Sending him to provoke Fabian was undoubtedly a calculated move.
And it wouldn't have mattered to them whether that plan succeeded or failed.
Conrad was tormenting countless dark mages. As long as just one of them reached their breaking point, the plan would succeed.
"Who the hell are they?!"
"Like I said, you wouldn't know them even if you heard it."
I recalled the information I had wrung out of Victor.
He said he contacted them through a locked, empty locker in the knight trainees' gymnasium...
The number of Kazot members was not small, and most of them did not know each other's identities or names.
That was why they issued orders to their collaborators from different locations and through different methods.
"We're here."
"This is... the faculty residential area, isn't it?"
The Academy was vast. And the instructors qualified to teach here were far too noble to live in standardized dormitories.
Historians who had left their mark on academia, or the kingdom's greatest swordsmen who had retired, often came to the Academy as lecturers.
They had formed a small village near the Academy, living amongst themselves.
"But... isn't this, well, dangerous?"
Having finally grasped the situation, Lilian asked in a trembling voice.
"You can back out if you want. I can handle this without you."
Lilian hesitated for a moment before asking anxiously.
"This is... a good thing, right?"
"Depending on your perspective. At the very least, I believe it's the right thing to do."
"I'll... trust you, then."
Arriving at our destination, I stared at the front gate and took a deep breath.
"None of you need to participate in the fight."
"What? Then why did you bring me here? Just to watch?"
Olivia muttered, her voice dripping with indignation. I nodded.
"Exactly. Just watch."
Although a basic alarm ward was cast over the place, I had no intention of sneaking in from the start.
"Let's begin."
The ward shattered. Kellin and Claire watched it happen.
"...I didn't realize you were this reckless."
"It's time to move."
Kazot was moving much faster than I had anticipated. I needed to respond in kind.
"Let's go."
With a flick of my finger, the door swung open. I stepped inside without hesitation.
"Finally, it has begun..."
Although the night was deep, an old man, brimming with excitement, was endlessly writing a letter on a scroll.
There was much to do. The fruits of his labor were finally becoming visible.
"In this Academy... no, in this world... there are far too many pieces of trash. Far too many..."
Fools who possessed neither noble blood nor outstanding talent, yet managed to enter the Academy solely on temporary 'skill.'
The old man loathed them. Dark mages, who borrowed power that was not their own, were the perfect targets for his hatred and wrath.
"It has finally begun..."
Conflict was brewing. And like any other knight, the old man did not doubt for a second that those wielding the power of light would emerge victorious in this clash.
There would be some friction, and the peace-seeking Empire would not look kindly upon it, but eventually, they would rejoice upon seeing a cleaner, more beautiful Academy.
Once that time comes, peace will be restored.
His sharp senses had already told him that some of the Kazot members he was collaborating with were dark mages.
They would need to be purged. Things had to be adjusted to be cleaner and more beautiful.
But for now, he had to ensure that the righteous fury spreading within the Academy did not cool down—
"Who's there?!"
The old man's reaction was swift, but the enemy's ambush was swifter.
T-There should have been detection wards! How?!
He was skilled in swordsmanship, but he was practically illiterate when it came to magic.
The cheap security wards he had commissioned from an ordinary mage could not stop a magical intrusion, only a physical one.
My... sword!
Flames forged from dark magic enveloped him in a semi-circle. Blocking his only path of escape stood a young dark mage, glaring at him.
I was... careless!
When he was on the battlefield, he had never let go of his sword for even a single moment. Even after entering the Academy, he had lived that way for several years.
But the euphoria of his long-standing plan finally succeeding had made him lax, and that single mistake was now tightening a noose around his neck.
"Do not underestimate me!"
However, even if he knew little of magic, he knew exactly how to deal with mages.
Spells that simply spewed flames were surprisingly lacking in destructive power.
While the visual impact of raging flames was terrifying, magic meant to truly harm a person would take a far more efficient form.
Furthermore, instead of targeting the old man directly, the dark mage had conjured flames around him to restrict his movement.
If that was the only goal, there was no reason to fear.
Somehow... even if I can't reach my armor, I must get my sword!
He was a powerful swordsman, but he could not fight without a blade.
A mage revealing themselves directly in front of a swordsman only did so when they had a reason to be confident.
Even if the dark mage looked defenseless right now, countless defensive spells were surely protecting him. Trying to break through that with bare fists instead of a sword would be reckless.
Just because there were no flames in the direction of the mage did not mean it was wise to charge straight at him.
A dark spell far more potent than the mere containment flames would surely be waiting for him.
"Haaah!"
The old man threw himself into the flames to reach the sword resting on the weapon rack.
It was the best choice, whispered to him by his vast combat experience. It was the correct response.
Or so he thought, until he realized the raging flames were far, far hotter than he could have ever imagined.
"Aaaagh! Aaaaaargh!"
The sheer heat was on a different level.
Generally, once a knight or a mage who built their strength through honest means reached a certain level, it became extremely difficult for a dark mage to kill them.
Once a dark mage reached a certain level, they inevitably had to focus on fighting other dark mages.
They had no choice but to focus on devotion to evil, contracts with higher-ranking demons, and strengthening their dark magic rather than raw physical combat.
"Aaaaargh!"
That was why, even when ambushed, the old man had not doubted his victory.
"T-This makes no sense... Where did you get... this kind of dark magic?!"
It was a horrifying waste of dark magic. There was no way someone would expend this much power just to block an old man from escaping to the sides or rear.
Forcing his eyes open to look ahead, the old man finally realized who had attacked him.
"Wade...!"
The dark mage who had defeated Katarin now stood proudly before his very eyes.