Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: The Miracle of Black Magic
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“There is.”
As a doctor, Henri had seen many people suffering from illness.
Many called him an excellent physician, but there were countless patients he couldn’t save.
If ten patients sought him out, he could only save three, and the other seven would die.
It wasn’t just Henri’s case. Even doctors more skilled than him had a success rate of only fifty percent. Half their patients died, and half survived.
People saw this as the will of the gods, but learned physicians agonized over their failures to save lives.
“This time, as I sent off His Highness the Crown Prince, that question struck me strongly. Why did the gods drive him to despair? Why did they so cruelly torment a man who had so much to accomplish?”
The Crown Prince’s cause of death was poisoning. Viscount Noema’s words felt off somehow, but Henri couldn’t bring himself to care.
The door opened, and a cart rolled in, bearing a coffin atop it.
“What is that?”
“It’s something I prepared to show you a miracle. See for yourself.”
The coffin lid opened. Inside lay a corpse.
“Isn’t that a corpse?”
“Correct. Take a look and confirm.”
There was no need to check. Henri was a doctor; he could distinguish between the living and the dead.
“Why this?”
“Because today, I’ll show you a piece of the truth I’ve been seeking.”
From the door through which the coffin had entered came a man in a black hood. His face was hidden. Only a few strands of red hair poked out from beneath the hood.
At his appearance, the gathered people stepped aside. Henri unwittingly backed away as well, just like nobles making way for His Majesty the King at a banquet.
Henri couldn’t voice the question of who this man was. Like the others, he held his breath.
“Work your miracle again today, Hel.”
“Of course.”
The one called Hel replied in an arrogant tone. Henri felt as though he had heard that voice somewhere before.
“Watch closely.”
Henri had no idea what he intended to do with the corpse, and he was about to protest that it was disrespectful to the deceased when the body suddenly sat up.
Henri let out a sharp scream and fell backward.
“Th-the corpse!”
“Ooh!”
Unlike the shocked Henri, the others only uttered exclamations of awe. They seemed to have witnessed this sight several times before.
“It’s amazing every time!”
“The power to bring back the dead!”
“Something like that can’t be possible!”
But the thing that had been a corpse waved a hand toward Henri.
“Check the heartbeat and breathing!”
Henri lunged toward the waving figure to verify if its heart was beating. Viscount Noema grabbed him, however.
“His power is still imperfect. He’s only temporarily holding the dead soul in place—he hasn’t fully revived it.”
“Then it can’t be considered truly saved, can it?”
“Not yet.”
Viscount Noema wore a relaxed expression.
Normally, attaching the condition “not yet” implied that it would be possible later.
“We still lack research on that power.”
“That power?”
“Black magic—what others call black sorcery.”
At that word, Henri gasped. Viscount Noema had casually uttered a term taboo to others.
“People fear black magic because they don’t understand it and call it black sorcery. But black magic is a power comparable to that of the gods.”
Henri trembled. No one knew what he was thinking. But Viscount Noema judged that Henri was captivated by this miracle.
In truth, Henri couldn’t tear his eyes away from the reanimated corpse.
“It’s only summoning them briefly for now, but with further research, reviving the dead will be possible. So, what do you say? Won’t you join our group? The more doctors, the better.”
There was no way he wouldn’t be enchanted by this power.
Those mad for knowledge, truth, and exploration knew black magic was dangerous, yet they floundered in its allure—even those called scholars, who were more learned than others.
“I... I...”
Henri was shaking. Viscount Noema had seen many tremble in rapture upon witnessing new truths. Thus, he could predict his answer.
“Well? What’s your answer?”
Viscount Noema’s lips curved, urging a response.
Henri squeezed his eyes shut. The force in his clenched fists made his shoulders quake.
“I refuse.”
It was not the answer Viscount Noema had expected.
“What?”
“I refuse. I want to be a father my children can be proud of.”
Henri rejected his offer.
It wasn’t that Henri had no interest in the power to revive the dead. He felt its intense temptation.
However, ever since the Emporus family was revealed to have contracted with demons, he had faced suspicions that he might one day become a black sorcerer.
He could endure such looks directed at himself, but he couldn’t bear his children suffering the same treatment. That was why he couldn’t touch black magic.
“That’s unexpected. I thought you’d join Daimon for sure.”
Viscount Noema raised the hand holding his cane, as if in regret.
Only then did Henri realize his mistake. The capital currently viewed black magic with suspicion, encouraging reports of any black sorcerers discovered.
A fellow member might be safe, but having rejected the offer, he was in greater danger than ever.
“Are you going to kill me?”
Henri asked in a tense voice. Everyone here was in league; killing and hiding him would be a simple matter. Realizing this, Henri backed away.
“Unfortunately.”
It meant they would kill him.
“Killing you outright would be boring, so let’s play a game. Try escaping this place without getting caught by us. Who knows? You might get lucky and survive.”
Henri swallowed hard. He saw no way out of here. Even so, he couldn’t take back his words.
‘Evelyn.’
In his heart, he thought of his beloved wife.
The men below the floor stepped aside, clearing a path to the door.
They seemed to view this as entertainment—like releasing animals into a hunting ground for sport. Only the venue was indoors, and the prey was human.
Henri ran along the open path. Even if he couldn’t survive, he couldn’t give up without trying.
He grabbed the door.
Clunk. Clunk!
It wouldn’t open. Instead, low laughter echoed.
“Hahaha, look at him flailing to survive!”
“He didn’t even notice the door was locked—running like that is quite the sight.”
Everyone there cackled, mocking Henri.
Tears welled in Henri’s eyes. At that moment,
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out. A blade flashed through the door crack, and the hinges soon gave way.
It wasn’t a normal method, but the door opened.
A hand in a black glove shot out and seized Henri’s wrist. Unable to resist its strength, Henri was pulled along.
“He’s escaping!”
“Grab him!”
Those who had mocked Henri rushed toward the door. But Henri, whom they thought had fled, hadn’t left yet.
Bang!
Someone kicked the door from the other side. It flew toward the oncoming crowd.
“Argh!”
Those crushed beneath the heavy bronze door screamed.
“Let’s go.”
Henri moved his legs at the sound of that voice. Though masked and clad in black like an assassin, he instantly recognized the one gripping his wrist as his wife.
“Darling.”
“It’s been a while since we’ve run together like this.”
Her face was hidden by the mask, but Henri could picture her smile.
“How are you here?”
“Later.”
Henri glanced back briefly at the pursuing group. As Evelyn said, now wasn’t the time for talk.
“Darling, didn’t I once tell you I was skilled with the sword?”
Evelyn spoke in a voice laced with amusement.
“You did.”
He had heard the story, but Henri couldn’t imagine how strong she truly was. How powerful could she be, wielding a sword with that slender frame?
Like any human, he couldn’t escape his biases. He assumed that even if his wife was strong, she couldn’t match a man.
That was why, when Evelyn released his hand and told him to flee first, he couldn’t obey.
“I can’t leave you behind...”
Before he could finish, Evelyn’s sword cleanly sliced the ceiling. The severed ceiling rained down chunks of stone.
“Argh!”
“Darling, you really don’t listen. I told you to go first because of the dust.”
People were buried under the collapsing ceiling. Evelyn leaped lightly several times and scooped up Henri.
Seeing the sturdy ceiling crumble, Henri ran without a word.
The corridor was labyrinthine. Vibrations continued, accompanied by the sound of heavy stones shifting.
After running through the twisting passages for about a minute, Evelyn suddenly yanked Henri’s collar back, stopping him.
At the same moment, the ceiling split open, and a red figure dropped down.
It was a figure with all its skin peeled away, muscles fully exposed. Its white eyes rolled around, fixing on Evelyn and Henri.
“Grraaah!”
It made no words. Evelyn swiftly slashed the red monster. Black blood sprayed like a fountain, some splattering onto her.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. But darling, it feels like we’re going in circles.”
“Going in circles?”
Evelyn wiped the splashed blood with the back of her hand and pressed against the wall.
“Can you feel these vibrations and sounds?”
Henri nodded.
“The walls are moving. To keep us from escaping.”
“Then what do we do?”
Evelyn looked up at the ceiling. The spot from which the strange monster had emerged was sealed again.
She raised her sword and nodded.
“If the walls are moving, let’s break through the ceiling. Step back.”
Evelyn pushed her husband behind her and swung at the recently breached ceiling.
Her sword snapped, but a crack appeared in the ceiling. She drew another sword from her back and struck again. This time, the ceiling burst open.
Stones fell and dust rose, but Evelyn immediately reached up through the hole and grabbed hold.
She swung her legs back and forth a few times for momentum, then vanished onto the ceiling above.
“Darling?”
“My hunch was right. Darling, I’ll pull you up—come on.”
A gloved hand extended downward. Henri grabbed it with one hand while clutching the crumbled ceiling edge with the other.
Evelyn pulled him up, and once his upper body was on the floor above, he could escape the basement on his own.
“This one’s open.”
Unlike the maze-like floor below, this level had a long corridor visible after breaking through the ceiling.
No torches lit it, and dust coated everything, suggesting it wasn’t used often.
“Darling, hold on a moment.”
Evelyn left him briefly and dropped back down. Soon, a lit torch was tossed to his opposite side, and she climbed up. She stood beside Henri, holding the torch.
“It’s easy to fall to hallucinations in the dark, isn’t it?”
Evelyn stared into the darkness at the end of the corridor, where the light didn’t reach.