Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: The Runaway from Group Assignment (3)
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Oh, she wants perfection.
Once she obtained it, once she lost it, now she yearns for what she dreamed of. Whatever it is, she'll take it if you can give it to her. Whether it's light or shadow, she doesn't care.
Oh, she always wants the light.
A brilliant light that nothing can hide. A greater light that devours other lights. She wants the brilliant light that will turn back to her.
Yes.
The child who will inherit the ashen name.
Pity the first woman who sinned.
"..."
The first Ashen closed the book.
As she ran her fingers over the dust-covered tome, old memories surfaced and faded repeatedly. Memories worn down by centuries existed only as fragments.
There had been a day when the light shone brilliantly.
There had been a day when the light she thought would never fade went out.
Recalling the tragedy she had one day, at one moment, been forced to face, the first Ashen brushed the book's cover. Dust clung to her fingers.
"...I miss it."
The words she uttered sank heavily.
The Ashen lifted the worn and frayed scales. They still balanced perfectly. The contract forged centuries ago remained intact.
When will the day come when this balance breaks?
Do I wish for the balance to break?
Do I long for the day I'm freed from this heavy burden?
"..."
She couldn't know.
Because she couldn't know, it had become something she could no longer understand. The first Ashen let out a laugh. The leaking sound crumbled like dry leaves.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Deep in the alleyway.
Succubus Queen Rephe let out a long sigh as she plopped down on a stack of crates.
'This has taken more time than I thought.'
It shouldn't have dragged on this long.
All it was supposed to be was kidnapping one girl who wasn't even an adult yet. She figured a simple charm spell would handle it easily...
'But the charm didn't work.'
It was bizarre.
Anyone who met the eyes of Rephe, the Succubus Queen, lost their reason. Unless they were superhuman, no one could resist her charm.
Yet the girl resisted.
She didn't even show a hint of falling under the spell.
Of course, the charm failing was the only issue; the girl's power was negligible. Rephe had subdued her easily. The problem wasn't the girl.
Crunch.
Hearing the grinding of teeth, Rephe tilted her head down slightly. At her feet lay a boy.
"Anyway, what the hell is this guy?"
Rephe crossed her legs and sighed irritably.
Her gaze fell on the boy. He had been subdued by the Black Knight and now had his face pressed to the ground.
"...Tough one."
Black Knight Dyke said curtly.
Dyke bore no wounds. But exhaustion lingered around his eyes.
The boy's resistance had been fierce.
The moment they tried to kidnap the girl, the boy sensed them and attacked. He couldn't pierce Dyke's black armor... but it was an incredibly annoying assault.
Magic channeled through shadows.
A spell form she'd never seen before.
"He used some unique magic. Honestly, if it hadn't been a surprise attack, I might've had a harder time. Rephe."
"...That bad?"
"Not sure, but something feels off. He's not the type for a fair fight. Better to subdue his kind quickly."
You never know what tricks they might pull.
Muttering that, Dyke tightened his grip.
"So, Rephe."
Dyke looked at Rephe and asked.
"What do we do with this one?"
"...Wait."
Rephe awaited orders.
Soon, the parasite stirred in her mouth.
"Bring him... she says."
"Figures."
It was about what she'd expected.
The Heretic had always lusted after 'unique' things. Rephe felt a twinge of pity for the boy.
'To catch that one's eye...'
It's never a good thing.
It's something to fear. Rephe clearly remembered the 'forms' those who received the Heretic's favor took.
Among the Four Heavenly Kings' calamities, the one you must never tangle with.
That was the Heretic, Glethus. Rephe grimaced, feeling the parasite wriggling along her spine.
"Let's wrap this up quick and head back, Rephe."
"Got it."
She would anyway, orders or not.
Rephe flicked her fingers. The charmed humans hoisted the girl onto their backs.
"Escape through the sewers."
At Rephe's command, they nodded.
Carrying the girl, they headed deeper into the alley.
"..."
Confirming their departure, Rephe stepped down from the crates.
"Dyke."
"On it."
Dyke grabbed the boy's hair and lifted his head. Rephe knelt to meet the boy's eyes.
"Hold him tight."
Rephe exhaled shortly.
A sweet, cloying fragrance filled the alley.
'Until now, he's been dodging my gaze cleverly, so no chance for charm...'
But pinned like this, one moment is all it takes.
Rephe blinked. Her pink eyes glimmered妖しく.
Crunch.
The boy ground his teeth.
His black eyes trembled. Rephe gazed into them, inwardly marveling.
'What eyes...'
Eyes that even evoked chills.
Even as the charm dulled their light, those eyes held an intensely piercing gleam.
Killing intent.
Despite the clear gap in power, in this hopeless situation, the boy's fierce killing intent did not waver. Rephe unconsciously licked her lips.
'...Maybe just a taste?'
There's no greater pleasure than breaking those with strong wills and crushing them underfoot. Rephe imagined those fierce eyes clouding with ecstasy.
'Tempting just to think about...'
But no, she shouldn't.
"Sigh."
Rephe shook her head with a sigh.
Definitely appetizing prey, but... he's caught the Heretic's eye. No good messing with him.
"Tch."
Rephe smacked her lips and breathed on the boy's face. Focus faded from his eyes.
"...Drag him along."
At Rephe's order, the charmed ones moved.
As they vanished into the alley, Dyke asked Rephe.
"Why make them do it instead of leaving a beast? Don't you have the ones from the Heretic?"
"Beasts are too easy to spot. Besides, those have other uses."
"Other uses?"
"Yeah."
Rephe nodded.
"I didn't leave traces in Cardinak for nothing."
"You mean the corpses? The ones you drained and left."
"Less 'drained' and more 'offered' to the Heretic. Those bodies are all mediums."
"...What?"
"It should be starting any moment now... We'll slip away in the chaos."
What was starting?
As Dyke started to ask, Rephe answered.
"Something they absolutely can't ignore."
Giggle, she let out a laugh.
"It'll take them a while to clean up. At least, they won't manage without calling in the Hero Party from the front lines."
And right now, on the front lines, the beasts unleashed by the Heretic were rampaging. Beasts that couldn't be handled without the Hero's power.
'By the time they clean that up and return...'
All the incidents will be over.
Rephe flashed a sinister smile and started walking.
"Let's get going too."
There would be no variables.
It was a flawless, impeccable plan.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "What?"
Lania van Trias, the professor, blinked upon hearing the story.
"Say that again?"
The three students who had come to the faculty office were all from Belnoa's group. They glanced nervously at Professor Lania.
'Not sure if we should even say it...'
The words didn't come easily.
Group projects were meant to be handled among students. Even if there were issues with participation, professors didn't step in to fix it.
'Resolving that is part of what gets graded in group projects.'
So they'd planned to handle it themselves. But while searching for Belnoa... they sensed something off.
'No contact. Hasn't shown up at school.'
They'd slipped out of their hands.
No choice but to report to the professor.
"Well, Belnoa hasn't shown up to group meetings... We checked the dorms, but they said he's not there."
As one spoke, the other two chimed in.
"Looks like he didn't come back last night."
"Yeah, asked the Battle Magic department kids—they said no sign of him in classes all day..."
The three spoke in unison. Lania van Trias listened silently, stroking her chin.
"Hmm..."
She pondered briefly before speaking.
"Proceed without him for now. I'll contact the Black Mage Tower Lord about Belnoa."
2.
There was a boy who survived scraping by in the slums.
As is common for those living in filth, his life held no value. Without value, there was no meaning. The boy lived that way.
A life without purpose is empty.
A life only for survival holds no worth.
What remains in a life without purpose or value?
The boy couldn't know.
A human life shines when it has purpose. The boy wished to shine as well. He wanted his life to hold value. The boy, who lived clinging to shadows, yearned for light.
-What's your name?
And then, the boy meets it.
The light he so desperately longed for.
-Chloe. That's my name.
The light he met was more dazzling than the midsummer sun.
-And you?
Even in the filth, that girl shone.
The boy looked at the girl who extended her hand to his bloodied self. He grasped her hand.
The first hand he ever held was warm. In that warmth, the boy recalled his name.
'Belnoa.'
A name meaning abandoned child.
-Belnoa? That's your name?
He uttered the name he'd once discarded.
Thus, Belnoa's life gained purpose.
Looking back now, it's laughable.
Why was a girl like that in the alleys? Fragile, kind, naively innocent—she was nothing like Belnoa. She didn't fit the slums.
Those who don't blend in stand out.
Undefiled purity shines amid the dirt. Belnoa wasn't the only one who admired that purity. Admiration sometimes twists into greed.
There were those who lusted after the girl's purity.
Those who coveted her talent.
Many of them. Far too many. To protect her from them, Belnoa learned spells. He borrowed magic books from an old shopkeeper and studied for the first time.
A life with purpose felt rewarding.
Belnoa lived day by day, relying on the girl's light. To him, Chloe was everything. The value and meaning of his life.
There had been a moment when it was taken away.
Long ago.
Recalling that moment, Belnoa opened his eyes.
"..."
His body was shaking.
Someone was carrying him somewhere.
Drip, drip, drip.
The sound of falling water droplets echoed. Straining his ears, he heard flowing water. His vision was blurry.
'Dizzy.'
Vertigo hit.
His thoughts wouldn't connect properly. His mind was hazy, like dreaming with eyes open.
'Memories are faint.'
Belnoa pieced together vague memories.
He and Chloe had been wandering the plaza. Then, someone tried to kidnap Chloe.
'Tried to stop them.'
But failed. Chloe was knocked out, and he fell to some unknown magic. Then he lost consciousness... leading to now.
He grasped the situation.
Time to act.
Yet his body wouldn't move. Rage boiled deep inside, but it wouldn't break free. Something bound him.
'Where's Chloe.'
She wasn't in sight.
All he saw were walking corpses and puppets following orders blankly.
......No light in view.
Belnoa felt fear at the loss of that light.
Fear twisted into resolve in an instant.
'I see.'
Belnoa closed his eyes.
His fingers twitched. Not by his will.
Crack, crack-crack.
His fingers broke.
Yet no spell manifested. This offering wasn't to cast a spell. It was for a more perfect trade. The stars answered the offering.
「Do you desire a trade?」 Though his eyes were closed, Belnoa saw the scales in his vision. The scales spoke to him. A voice he hadn't heard in ages.
......Belnoa had always kept himself in check.
He knew his own talent.
And that it was a consuming talent that wore him down—he knew that all too well.
"I desire a trade."
Thus, Belnoa had always imposed restrictions on himself. Minimal offerings. He never dared reach for the unattainable.
But sometimes, such times came.
Times to shatter his self-imposed limits.
Moments when he had to ruin himself to grasp the ungraspable did exist. And Belnoa realized this was one.
「Offer the sacrifice.」 Years ago, the day the slums were drowned in blood.
The day the lightless ghost rampaged, the twilight that had ruled the dark alleys for decades vanished without a trace. Those who witnessed it all said the same.
What they faced that day was a ghost.
Not something you could call human, at least.
"...I offer it."
Years later.
「The trade is established.」 The ghost of the slums opened its eyes once more.
3.
Two days had passed since Belnoa went missing.
Aphria Academy had tried contacting the Black Mage Tower, but no connection. Several Battle Magic professors visited the tower.
The tower's doors remained shut.
Occasionally, mages poured out from the briefly opened gates. Black Mage Tower mages roamed the capital with knights.
The capital buzzed with sudden commotion.
No one knew what happened. Rumors swirled that the Black Mage Tower was searching for something. Aphria quietly awaited their response.
Not everyone.
"..."
Some professors didn't wait.
In Aphria's faculty office, Raniel was writing a letter. She read aloud what she'd written.
"The student isn't coming to school. What should I do?"
-What do you mean, what? Asking 'cause you don't know, professor?
-Drag them by the hair if you have to and park them in their seat. It'll disrupt the atmosphere otherwise, so handle it fast.
"Oh..."
She nodded unconsciously at the reply. Sounded appealing. Folding the letter, she stood.
"Guess I'll go fetch him."
If they won't come to school, drag them.
'Especially during a group project.'
Deserting mid-mission. Like a deserter.
'And deserters deserve punishment.'
Raniel concluded thus.
"Master, I'm heading out."
"Where to?"
"...Hm."
As she donned her gloves, she said.
"To catch a deserter."
"...Deserter?"
"Oh, not quite?"
Raniel tilted her head.
"Similar in meaning, right?"
"...Just don't cause trouble."
"Yes, Master."
Author's Note — Author Aphria's nightmare, off to catch the slum ghost. Dominator! Belnoa! *Don't forget to check the 30k favorites commemorative illustration in the notice! *Subheading changed to "Group Assignment Deserter."