Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Unseen Traces
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“Great work, everyone!”
“Master Allen, you truly live up to your reputation as the top student.”
“Th-that was truly incredible!!”
Allen waved his hand with a humble expression.
“It was a good opportunity for me to see all of your skills as well. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have something to attend to…”
His team members looked disappointed, but having witnessed his skill firsthand in the dungeon, they didn’t dare try to hold him back.
“We’ll see you next time.”
“I’m looking forward to the tasting party with you, Allen.”
“If you’re curious about healing spells, p-please come find me!”
“Let’s meet again soon.”
Once he was far enough away from his team, Allen let out the sigh he’d been holding back.
“…Their skills are raw despite their talent.”
To be precise, they didn’t know how to apply them.
Eriel, who would fire her bow without a word whenever she saw an opening.
Evan, who was overconfident in his skills and charged in recklessly.
William, who was left gasping for breath after casting a single healing spell.
Allen’s mind was exhausted from having to control them all and complete the dungeon crawl safely.
“Then why didn’t you say something to their faces? How did you hold it in?”
‘Because I couldn’t,’ Allen replied with a bitter smile.
Their individual skills weren’t bad.
More accurately, they lacked experience.
Except for William, they were all nobles and had likely received extensive training. Naturally, they would have gained some experience from it.
However, they were so used to others adapting to them that it had become ingrained in their movements. As a result, they ended up restricting each other’s actions.
He needed to pay attention to this, as he would be doing dungeon practicals with them unless something changed.
Allen walked briskly out of the academy’s basement where the artificial ruin was located. He looked up at the sky and saw the sun at its zenith.
“Where to now? Are you going to practice your swordsmanship?”
‘That’s a good idea, but… I’ve been neglecting my magic too much lately.’ While it would be better to go to a training ground to organize and practice his magic, there was another place he had to stop by first.
“Why are we here again?”
‘You never know.’ He had arrived at the library.
The academy’s library was a massive, twelve-story building. Allen entered without delay.
Inside, a librarian wearing round glasses gave a small bow.
Allen acknowledged the greeting and, unlike his first visit, scanned the library with a familiar gaze.
Bookshelves filled the space, packed with countless volumes.
There were sections for the humanities, natural sciences, spirit studies, engineering, and magical studies, with subsections further categorizing the shelves.
The books stacked on every floor represented knowledge excavated from ruins and restored, as well as the history of the academy itself.
The library was filled with the scent of old paper that suited its quiet atmosphere.
It was a place where one could borrow various theoretical texts, including magic books, and even grimoires from the deeper sections by using merit points.
It was the one place he thought he might find magic, or at least a clue, that could help him find his ‘brother.’
Allen went straight to the seventh floor, which was filled with books on magic. Countless books were categorized by school. He looked around and spotted a familiar librarian organizing books, then approached him.
“Are there any new books?”
“Pardon? Ah, it’s you, Master Allen.”
The male librarian looked up at his question and answered with a troubled smile.
“Are you perhaps looking for that book again…?”
“Yes, have any books related to souls or tracking, like I mentioned before, come in?”
The librarian shook his head with a bitter smile.
“No, books on the soul are rare, and it’s a particularly under-researched field… None of the few books that have arrived were related to that topic.”
As Allen’s expression darkened slightly, the librarian continued in an apologetic tone.
“If you’re really looking for a book on that subject… it would be faster to find one at an auction or wait for the books arriving next quarter. As you know, the books in the library are merely copies.”
“…Is that so.”
“Ah, of course, you could also use your merit points to find a related grimoire, but…”
He glanced at the nearby students, wary of his voice being too loud, and lowered it to a whisper.
“As you know, it costs 1,000 points to view a grimoire… so that would be difficult right now.”
1,000 merit points.
It wasn’t as absurd a goal as exchanging for items in the academy’s treasury or getting private lessons from one of the Eight Strongest, but it wasn’t an easy score to achieve either.
“I see… Thank you.”
“Not at all. I’ll let you know immediately if a book comes in.”
When Allen gave a slight bow for his consideration, the librarian waved his hand as if it were nothing.
“I’ll be on my way, then.”
The librarian nodded and continued organizing the books. As soon as the conversation ended, Vestla chimed in.
“You should just wait. You were here yesterday, too.”
‘A new book could have arrived today.’
“If it were that easy to find, you would’ve found it already. Besides, if a demon took his body, isn’t his soul in the Demon Realm?”
‘And do you happen to know where the Demon Realm is?’ He had told Vestla that a demon had taken over the body and the original soul had vanished. It wasn’t that different from the truth, except that it was a human from another dimension, not a demon.
“…Still, doing this won’t solve anything.”
‘You’re right about that.’ Allen gave a bitter smile as he left the library.
He had come to the library several times since enrolling. The knowledge here offered a higher probability of success than anywhere else.
He had spent several nights searching through keywords like ‘soul,’ ‘space,’ and ‘tracking’…
‘But I found nothing of value.’
To be precise, he had made progress in magic.
He had acquired new knowledge about space, souls, and contracts, and laid the groundwork for a new school of magic he had been researching since saving Linbelle and her mother.
But there was no such thing as soul-tracking magic.
He could hardly even find any related theories.
Since the school of the soul was linked to necromancy, there were very few books on the subject, and he couldn’t very well ask for the knowledge of dark mages, which was designated as forbidden.
“Hah…”
He knew being impatient wouldn’t solve anything, but he felt suffocated.
If only Julius’s soul had been in that bastard’s body.
He couldn’t describe how shocked he’d been to learn that his brother’s soul was not inside Julius’s body. If it had been, he would have dragged that bastard out of the shell long ago.
As he was lost in thought, Vestla spoke in an unusually cautious tone.
“Allen, I’m sorry to say this… but what if, just what if.”
Her hesitation was out of character.
When Allen looked down at Vestla, the body of her blade trembled slightly.
“W-well, what if the soul didn’t disappear somewhere?”
Seeing that Allen didn’t speak, she seemed to gain courage and continued without stopping.
“As you know, I’ve lived for a little while,”
A few tens of thousands of years was more than a little while.
“…but even back then, when a demon took over a body, they would devour the soul. It was very rare for them to spirit it away somewhere else.”
“…”
“And… the souls they did spirit away belonged to incredibly special beings called heroes in that era, but Allen’s brother is, well…”
Even if he’s a noble, he’s just one of many ordinary humans. Seeing his silence, Vestla quickly added an excuse.
“…It’s not that your brother isn’t exceptional, but… he didn’t quite have the kind of talent to be called a hero, and demons are picky, so it’s possible he’s no longer in this world… I’m not saying it’s a certainty, but you should at least prepare yourself…”
“No.”
His steps came to a halt.
Allen cut off her rambling, self-conscious words.
“He’s out there somewhere. He has to be.”
At his firm tone, Vestla replied with a complex mix of emotions.
“…Yes, you’re right. I’m sure you’ll find him.”
My brother is alive.
He has to be somewhere.
If not, what was that voice I heard just before I regressed?
And what was the source of that faint sense of déjà vu I felt during the divine beast’s trial?
The fact that the soul that was there before his regression was now gone had to be for a different reason. It had to be.
‘He must be…’
He had to be.
The shadow that followed at Allen’s feet vanished as if swallowed by a larger darkness, even though it was always there, lingering at his heels.
For some reason, Allen quickened his pace. He couldn’t afford any setbacks during the dungeon practical.
***
A hidden ruin to the west of the academy.
The place, which had failed exploration so many times that not even fledgling mercenaries would come near it, was now filled with the metallic stench of blood.
The ochre floor was a filthy mess of dust and blood, and fragments of broken walls littered the spaces between the corpses, creating a chaotic scene.
In the middle of the carnage, Haizel muttered to himself.
“How did he know about a place like this?”
“How did he know about the grand plan… Kegh.”
“So dramatic.”
He cleanly beheaded the survivor, finishing him off, then flicked the blood from his blade.
The area was littered with corpses.
Dark mages with strange black tattoos on their faces and witches with skin as wrinkled as old wood.
Besides them, armed mercenaries who must have joined forces with the dark mages lay on the ground, their eyes devoid of light.
A force capable of overthrowing a city, no matter how infamous they had been, now lay with their heads and bodies separated, painting the floor red.
Nearby, an altar on the verge of activating pulsed with a pathetic light and began to slowly absorb the blood.
“Since no demonic energy was leaking out… it makes sense I didn’t notice. But how did Julius find out?”
Haizel swung his sword with an impassive face. A white mana, unfitting for him, formed a blade of energy and fell upon the altar.
*CRASH!*
The altar shattered in an instant, and the magic circle that was about to activate slowly faded.
“He said dozens of these things are supposed to appear? And some have already been activated?”
Haizel let out a hollow laugh.
A gate connected to the Demon Realm.
Until he spoke with Julius, he had no intention of getting this deeply involved.
He had already lost one life as a puppet; he had no desire to get tangled up with those bastards again.
He was already too exhausted and withered to muster any more passion.
In this life, he just wanted to live a simple life. The reason he came to the academy was merely to satisfy a small curiosity about the Descendant of the Hero, nothing more, nothing less.
And yet, and yet.
*Thump—*
Haizel passed the room with the altar and pushed open the door to another hidden chamber.
“……I’m not a fan of this kind of sentimental crap.”
Light from outside streamed into the dark interior.
Perhaps because of the backlight, a deep shadow was cast over his eyes.
“You’ve really outdone yourselves.”
Was it a provocation? Or just a coincidence?
Inside, demons were bound to experiment tables, neatly dissected. It seemed the dark mages and demons weren’t exactly on friendly terms.
Haizel’s eyes were devoid of any emotion.
It wasn’t the first time he had seen such a scene.
*Crunch, crunch—*
Dried bloodstains crumbled under his steps.
“If sending me here was also part of their plan, the right thing to do would be to just ignore it…”
There was no need to reveal that he was alive by getting involved. How much he had suffered before he died. He was used until the very end.
Did he need to repeat that in this life?
He had intended to live a carefree life.
Searching for treasures he’d heard of in his past life, visiting places with strange rumors.
When he got bored of that, a trip to the sea would be nice.
“To think I’m hesitating like this, after pushing Allen away so coldly. Pathetic.”
Haizel stopped his train of thought and spun around.
*Thump—*
His eyes met with a head that had been rolling around on the floor.
Perhaps because some time had passed since death, or maybe because of the dark mages, the head’s owner looked as if they had suffered greatly. Indeed, even what was left of the head was not intact.
It was shriveled, covered in countless cuts.
Haizel resumed his steps and crouched in front of the head.
“Hmm…”
He closed his eyes for a moment, and various scenes flashed through his mind. Trivial memories. Scenes from his time as the Demon Lord. Waging war, fighting with the hero.
Haizel quickly shook his head.
“Ah, why am I thinking of him again.”
As if in a pique, he propped his chin on his hand at an angle and blurted out.
“You have a pretty face.”
Haizel said this and then grinned.
It was because she was dead now, but she must have been a real beauty when she was alive.
“Your bone structure isn’t bad, either. You would’ve been popular if you were alive.”
Were his words that surprising? The head, which should have been dead, seemed to be looking at him with an expression of disbelief.
Haizel slowly rose to his feet.
“Time to go.”
This time, he headed for the exit without stopping.
Looking back, the faint light that brushed against her body made it impossible to discern the features of the head in the chamber.
“So…”
The barrier that had concealed this place was already gone. He raised his fist high. He wouldn’t use demonic energy.
‘I really didn’t want to use this…’
But he had no choice. To destroy the building without using demonic energy, there was nothing better. As he raised his fist, a giant, colorless fist materialized above the ruin.
“A beauty’s light fades in a dark place like this. Shouldn’t a beautiful woman be among people to have value?”
Besides, they weren’t people he knew when he was alive. Technically, they were strangers… but what did it matter, now that they were dead?
“If you’re reborn, live an interesting life. Don’t do stupid things like I did. Well then…”
Haizel paused for a moment. He mumbled for a bit, then, as if deciding it didn’t matter, let out a small laugh.
“Goodbye.”
He brought his fist down.
Form Transformation: Divine Punishment, Flagellum Del.
A heavenly punishment descended. Like a meteor, the massive fist struck the ruin.
The ruin held for a moment, but within seconds, it shattered and was sucked into a pit of sand.
A sandstorm swept across his face. Haizel stared blankly at the scene, then recalled the information Julius had given him.
“…He said another one would appear nearby soon.”
Wasn’t that the day of the dungeon practical?
It seemed he wouldn’t be able to participate.
Something had come up.