Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Academy Raid: Begerton Antares (5)
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Roan Adenov was born into a knightly family.
Roan had always been a step ahead of his peers.
Boys of similar age were no match for him, and even the knighted ones couldn’t properly parry his sword.
The only wall Roan thought he could never overcome was his father.
Captain of the Black Lion Knights, Klein Adenov.
Roan had never once doubted his own strength, which he had learned from Klein’s sword.
“…….”
And now—
Roan Adenov stared at the man standing before him, every hair on his body standing on end.
The man glaring at Roan with sharp eyes exuded an extraordinary presence.
Swoosh—.
Even without drawing his sword, Roan somehow felt the man before him like a massive wall.
He didn’t know why.
Yet Roan sensed that the man standing before him was an absurd monster.
“……Who the hell are you.”
Clank—.
Roan pointed the sword in his hand and spoke.
This was a secret passage inside the academy, known only to a few professors.
It wasn’t a place where some unknown swordsman should just show up.
In such a situation, there could only be one reason the man was here.
‘He must be one of the culprits who turned the academy into this mess.’
One of the intruders who had raided the academy.
That had to be the identity of the man standing before him.
“Reveal yourself, intruder. What’s your purpose here!”
“You seem to have some idea already, but if you’re curious about who I am, I suppose I can tell you.”
Shing—.
The man watching Roan flashed a faint smile and gripped his sword hilt.
His hand was scarred roughly, like badges of honor.
“Reintas. Just a mercenary.”
“Reintas……!”
There was no hint of wariness on Reintas’s face as he looked at Roan.
Even though Roan could charge at him any moment.
Screeech—.
Reintas scraped the floor with the tip of his sharp blade, stroking his chin with his left hand as he alternated glances between the two.
“Looks like you were lucky enough to avoid the doctor’s magic. Or maybe unlucky, depending on how you see it.”
From the mercenary’s mouth came talk of “magic.”
The unidentified murky darkness now blanketing the academy.
This man, Reintas, and his comrades were behind it all.
Snort—.
Reintas slung his sword over his shoulder and looked down at Roan with a scornful gaze.
Roan shot back at him in a sharp voice.
“What the hell is your purpose here at the academy! Why turn a perfectly fine place into this!”
“Who knows—. Mercenaries like me just do what we’re paid for. The doctor would know the details better than I do.”
Thud—.
Reintas took a step forward as he eyed Roan.
At the sudden advance, Roan unwittingly stepped back.
“Honestly, tormenting greenhorn kids like you isn’t really my thing.”
“What did you just say……!”
“But we’ve got orders, so no choice.”
Whish, whoosh—.
Reintas spun the sword in his hand once.
It was like some acrobatic flourish.
Roan watched the mercenary’s freewheeling swordplay, glaring at him with a tense face.
‘He said he’s a mercenary. Probably swings his sword in more unpredictable ways than knights.’
Step, step—.
Roan’s eyes measured the distance between them.
There was still some space between the two.
Not close enough to swing wildly.
Just as Roan tensed to move against the approaching Reintas—
“If you can, go ahead and struggle all you want—.”
Whish—.
Reintas suddenly shifted his grip, turning the sword’s tip as if to throw it.
Roan’s instincts screamed in alarm at the incomprehensible action.
Whoooosh—!
A sword shot sharply from Reintas’s hand.
“Throwing your sword in this situation……!”
A thrown sword slicing through the air.
Roan hurriedly raised his own sword to meet it.
Clang—!
A heavy impact reverberated through his grip.
Roan had desperately deflected the sword Reintas had hurled.
“Not bad reflexes, kid.”
“Ugh……!”
And then, to Roan’s lower right.
Reintas had already closed in right before him, swinging a blade protruding from the palm of his hand.
Swoosh—.
A strike flashing from an impossible angle.
Roan tried to block the attack from his blind spot, but the recoil from deflecting the thrown sword still lingered in his hands.
‘A blade coming out of his palm……!’
An unpredictable blow rushed in.
Clang! Whirrr—.
A brief clash.
Right after, Roan completely lost his grip on his sword.
Reintas’s swiftly protruding blade had knocked Roan’s sword to the ground.
Having lost his sword in an instant, Roan sensed his death and squeezed his eyes shut.
“Stupid brat, don’t close your eyes in a fight!”
Boom—!
A sharp kick slammed into Roan’s abdomen.
“Gahak……!”
Thud, roll—.
Kicked by Reintas’s foot, Roan flew back and tumbled across the floor.
In mere seconds, he’d not only dropped his sword but been helplessly booted away.
For a prodigy top student, it was a pitiful showing.
“Roan! Are you okay……?”
Ugh—.
Avery, who had been watching the fight, rushed anxiously to Roan clutching his abdomen.
“Ave, ry… it’s dangerous……!”
“This isn’t the time to worry about me! Roan, you’re bleeding from your mouth……!”
Roan tried to push Avery away, but she wouldn’t leave his side.
Swoosh—.
Roan moved his pain-spreading body, wrapping one arm around Avery as he glared at Reintas.
Even accounting for not anticipating the hidden weapon, the clash had been a total defeat for Roan.
Reintas was strong.
Unlike Roan, the mercenary he faced was a swordsman with ridiculous experience.
‘Am I… going to die like this?’
Fear of death clouded Roan’s mind.
Would he kill him now, defeated in battle?
Was there no way to at least save Avery’s life?
As Roan agonized—
Reintas kicked the sword lying at his feet toward him.
“Get up, kid.”
Whirl, whoosh—.
Roan’s sword rolled across the floor and stopped before his legs.
Reintas had returned it to him.
Looking down at Roan and Avery, he spoke with an inscrutable expression.
“Take your sword. A knight protects his woman with his own hands.”
Roan’s eyes turned to Reintas.
Then to the sword before him.
Mercy? Arrogance?
Or some other reason.
Whatever it was, Roan had been given a second chance.
Grip—.
Roan’s hand seized the sword again.
“I’ll make you regret… that arrogance.”
Roan struggled to his feet from the floor.
Being knocked down helplessly once was enough.
No matter what, he had to stand and fight again.
That was surely the virtue of a knight.
* * * * * *
The ancient ruins beneath the academy.
In his hand, as he headed toward the vast ruins’ depths, the doctor held a lantern scattering clear light.
A thick darkness without even a sliver of light.
There, the doctor was exploring alongside the academy headmaster, Cardos.
Step, step—.
Their footsteps echoed clearly in the darkness.
The doctor, walking ahead, turned to Cardos and spoke.
“How far has the academy investigated these ruins?”
The academy’s founding purpose was the study of these ancient ruins—a fact known to Cardos and most high-ranking academy officials.
Thus, the doctor asked how far the investigation had progressed.
Hearing this, Cardos stroked his chin beard, looking somewhat troubled.
Ahem, hem—.
Clearing his throat once, Cardos spoke of the ruins.
“We’ve mapped out most of the structure. We’ve also confirmed it once served as a temple.”
“A temple… Given that you’ve kept it hidden from the outside, it’s probably not affiliated with any church order.”
“……Not wrong.”
Cardos’s eyes shifted to the ancient wall paintings.
The doctor followed his gaze to the images carved on the walls.
“Likely a place worshiping more primal entities. Of course, we haven’t fully deciphered it yet.”
The ruin walls depicted humans holding up the sky.
They gazed reverently upward, as if serving something great.
“As in that pilgrim’s memoir you saw… this place would cause problems if the church found out.”
The reason the ancient ruins were hidden beneath the academy.
It spilled from Cardos’s lips.
An ancient temple accessible only to a select few with imperial permission.
Its very existence could spark conflict with the White Church.
“That makes sense. The church has good reason to erase info on dangerous entities.”
“…….”
“Could be to solidify their continental influence, or because the info itself is extremely hazardous.”
“Probably. That’s why no one but wanted criminals like you would touch it.”
Cardos’s eyes reflected the doctor, who wore a monocle.
For these two researchers on divergent paths, this was their first direct encounter.
A fugitive from the Magic Research Society.
And the academy headmaster.
Two with no connection whatsoever.
“What do you plan to do with the Elixir?”
As they walked onward, Cardos asked the doctor.
A question about his goal.
The doctor replied with a meaningful smile.
“Knowing might put you in danger. You okay with that?”
Warned, Cardos asked no more.
“……Well, that’s enough info.”
“You like living long, huh. Very model behavior.”
The doctor offered no further warnings to Cardos.
Cardos was performing his role of guide admirably.
As long as each stuck to their roles, it was sufficient.
Hoo—.
A deep sigh echoed in the dark corridor.
“Fascinating facility. Existing before the church even took root.”
“In ancient times, these ruins were hubs of knowledge. That’s why you find lost ancient spells here.”
Hmm—.
Hearing of magic, the doctor leaned toward Cardos.
“Since it came up, mind if I take a few ancient spells as souvenirs?”
Cardos continued with a resigned expression.
“……The place I’m guiding you to now is the temple’s worship hall. There are a few grimoires too awkward to publicize—help yourself.”
“Good. Handles things cleanly, like the friend I know.”
Their steps continued toward the temple depths briefly.
Soon, Cardos halted before a massive stone door.
Swoosh—.
The doctor’s gaze turned to the stone door where Cardos had stopped.
Endless runes from ancient script adorned the door.
“Hmm… quite intriguing.”
Cardos, stopping before the door, muttered something.
“————.”
Rumble—.
Immediately after, with a vibration, the stone door began to open.
Beyond the parting door.
A grand worship hall revealed itself before the doctor and Cardos.
“…….”
The doctor’s eyes quickly scanned the hall.
The most striking feature in the vast hall was the altar erected on the wall.
An altar built to connect with outerworldly beings.
A facility brimming with ominous dread stood there.
“This… it’s clearly an altar.”
“…….”
“One for contacting outerworldly entities… something only black mages would use.”
Spotting the altar, the doctor stepped forward.
Deep inside the grand worship hall.
The walls surrounding the altar were densely inscribed with symbolic patterns.
“Indeed… a researcher who collects such things spots it right away.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Beneath the surrounding symbols, related inscriptions were written in small script.
Swoosh—.
The doctor’s eyes swept over the wall text.
Starting from the outer edges and burrowing inward, he read the words beneath each symbol.
“—Guide of the White Garden. The merciful guide takes away mortal fate, granting rest and cycles.”
The outermost wall symbol was very familiar to them both.
Guide of the White Garden.
In other words, the god worshiped by the White Church.
The doctor’s gaze moved to the next symbol.
“—Giant of the Immovable Rock. The arrogant giant unleashes merciless divine punishment on those who call it.”
Giant of the Immovable Rock—.
The rock-embedded giant symbol was one even the doctor encountered for the first time.
His eyes moved to the next inscription.
“—Abyssal Serpent of the Four Mountains and Seas.”
Unfamiliar patterns and names were inscribed.
Names buried in silence for eons, unknown even to the doctor who had long studied taboos.
They now flowed from the lips of the doctor, who had researched ancient script across countless years.
“You deciphered that? Academy professors tried for ages and failed……!”
“—Pilgrimage Procession of Heavenly Guidance.”
The doctor instinctively understood what was written before him.
Laws existing since before the world’s birth.
Entities in the cosmic beyond, beyond cognition, rightfully feared.
—Mysteries of the Unfathomable.
History perhaps linked to the master of the great library he sought to summon.
“—Floating Citadel of the Heavens.”
Countless names poured from the doctor’s mouth.
Each carrying immense weight.
Soon, his gaze reached the altar’s central wall.
“…….”
Myriad shooting stars cascading toward the earth.
Beneath them, a massive dragon gazing at the sky was painted on the wall.
The doctor’s lips began reading the name inscribed below, letter by letter, clearly.
“—Crimson Dragon of the Apocalypse.”
“…….”
Cardos fell silent hearing the doctor.
He said nothing more to him.
In the worship hall’s stillness, only the doctor’s voice echoed clearly.
“The moment the dragon that drops stars from beyond eternity arrives, destruction shall come with the falling meteors—.”