Episode 1112
Episode 1112
"Any other questions?"
The angel Apazragon looked at Lee Han with a puzzled expression.
In the current situation, what else could he possibly be curious about besides the fact that this sword wasn't made by an angel?
"I don't know who made that sword either. Judging by the craftsmanship, it was probably a demon or a famous blacksmith from another dimension."
"I... I see."
Lee Han nodded momentarily.
The angel's speculation seemed quite plausible. No matter how exceptional a mage might be, it was extremely difficult for a mortal from the continent to accurately distinguish objects from other dimensions.
Unless one constantly traveled between dimensions to gather information and interact with various races, it would be hard to tell whether a sword was made by an angel, a demon, or some tentacled monster with thirteen arms and forty-eight eyes.
"Then I'll take my leave."
"...Wait! Hold on!!!"
"???"
Lee Han urgently called out to the angel who was about to coolly depart again.
This time, the angel looked at Lee Han as if he found him strange.
This pioneer who had walked the path of ancient magic before him wasn't someone who wasted time inefficiently—why was he calling out so unnecessarily today of all days?
"Where were you until just now? How did you appear so suddenly?"
'Excellent question, Lee Han!'
Professor Garcia, having regained her composure, cheered internally.
While it was surprising that an angel had suddenly appeared from the spiritual dimension acting familiar (and it seemed the student had even met him before), that wasn't the important part.
...Well, it was somewhat important, but Professor Garcia decided to let it slide. It wasn't like this was the first time her student had befriended strange beings from other dimensions.
But the truly important question was how that angel had appeared so instantly.
Surely he hadn't been secretly following Lee Han around...
"I don't understand what you're saying. I was observing you, so I appeared immediately."
The angel looked at Lee Han with even greater confusion. He couldn't comprehend why such an obvious question was being asked.
"......"
"......"
The already chilly atmosphere of the spiritual world grew even colder.
Professors Garcia and Voladi exchanged glances.
'Do you think you could completely subdue an angel if needed?'
'I'll attack immediately if you give the signal.'
While it wasn't uncommon to hear about mages being pursued by demons after failed magic attempts, having an angel stalk someone like this was unprecedented even for Professor Garcia.
Weren't angels supposed to be the race that remained indifferent to affairs of other dimensions?
Though confused, Professor Garcia steeled her resolve for her student's sake. If the angel was harassing her student by following him around, she was prepared to resort to force if necessary.
"Don't tell me when you said 'I'll be counting on you from now on,' you meant you'd keep following me around?!"
"Correct. Didn't you agree to it?"
"......"
"......"
Professors Garcia and Voladi stared intently at their student. Lee Han hurriedly explained:
"No! It's a misunderstanding!"
"Is it really a misunderstanding though..."
"It truly is a misunderstanding! Professors!"
It really was a misunderstanding.
When the angel had said "I'll be counting on you from now on" before leaving, Lee Han had just said "Sure"—how was he supposed to know it meant the angel would keep following and monitoring him?
Leaving aside the student who looked ready to die from sheer injustice, Professor Garcia posed a question to the angel:
"I'm curious. Even if you were following Lee Han, we would have noticed if you'd been moving within this spiritual dimension. Did you move through an entirely separate dimension instead? One that only celestials can use...?"
"Correct."
Though their numbers were far fewer than demons, true to their race whose prestige never waned, angels possessed formidable racial abilities.
Especially when it came to manipulating dimensions, they often displayed bizarre capabilities that even mages found difficult to anticipate.
The dimension Apazragon had used was the Divine Light Extinguished dimension.
This dimension wasn't an independent realm separate from reality, but rather a shadow-like dimension.
Once entered, one's existence would transform into a vague, indistinct concept, making it impossible to interfere with the physical realm—yet it was perfectly suited for covert observation.
Apazragon had submerged himself in this shadow dimension, diligently observing the Pathfinder's journey, and only shifted back to the Spirit Realm to intervene when problems arose.
"......"
Lee Han was at a loss for words.
'What kind of bizarre race is this?'
A dimension so strange that even soul detection couldn't catch it, allowing them to observe others unseen.
At this point, weren't they even worse than demons?
"Come to think of it, Pathfinder, I have something to tell you."
As if remembering mid-conversation, Apazragon suddenly addressed Lee Han.
"...What is it?"
"The magic sanctuary where you reside has such a distorted dimension that access is difficult. It would be good if you could ask the lord of the estate to improve it."
Einrogard, with its long history, had layers upon layers of accumulated magic—so much so that the surrounding dimensions had become bizarrely warped.
Powerful magic inevitably affected dimensions as well.
Even for a race as adept at manipulating dimensions as angels, accessing such a place was no easy task. In fact, Apazragon had been waiting outside Einrogard all this time, only able to follow Lee Han again once he stepped out.
To eliminate this unnecessary waste, they needed to ask the estate's lord to create a proper dimensional passage.
"...Indeed! I'll be sure to tell the Headmaster."
"Thank you."
"......"
Professor Garcia looked at her student with a complicated expression.
Even if there had been any other race present besides the angel, they would have noticed that her student was just paying lip service.
There was no way Lee Han would actually ask the Skeleton Principal to create a dimensional passage for outsiders—unless he'd lost his mind.
And even if he did, whether it was possible remained doubtful.
Every time Professor Garcia saw the warped dimensions around Einrogard, even she—renowned as she was—found herself thinking, 'Where on earth do I even begin fixing these twisted distortions?'
'There are some good points about Einrogard after all.'
Lee Han thought to himself.
Of course, he had no intention of actually doing it—he was just grateful for Einrogard's notoriously hostile environment.
At least it kept even angels from getting in!
"Let's finish this first and talk more afterward."
Lee Han said to Apazragon.
Personally, he wanted to give a long lecture on 'Why is silently stalking a mortal mage considered rude?'—but there were too many people around right now.
Just look at Jute, staring at the three of them with an expression full of unease. They had to explain things to him first.
"Very well. I look forward to much enlightenment."
'What kind of enlightenment are you expecting, you lunatic?'
Lee Han cursed inwardly.
For some bizarre misunderstanding, this angel seemed to believe that by following Lee Han and observing his actions, he could gain enlightenment.
It was an absurd misconception, and the more he thought about it, the more his hatred for the Yaksha King flared.
To dump an angel like this on him...
'...If I go pick a fight with the Yaksha King, will that angel finally realize?'
Pat!
While lost in thought, Apazragon vanished. The overlapping Spirit Realm dissipated, and his wavering vision returned to normal.
"Did... something happen?"
Jute asked uneasily.
The three mages' strange behavior had unsettled him.
Staring into empty space, moving their lips as if holding a conversation with someone unheard...
'Wait. Could they have been speaking to a spirit?'
If they had detected a soul, then it made sense.
To perceive a spiritual entity without even casting a separate soul-detection spell—what incredible skill.
Was this what it meant to be a mage from Einrogard?
"Well... Lord Jute. There's something I need to tell you."
Lee Han hesitated before speaking.
As fellow practitioners of Black Magic, he didn't want to needlessly humiliate a fellow dark mage—but this was quite an important matter.
The spirit's weakness is the Celestial Blade, but it's hard to predict what might happen if you stab it with a completely different sword.
"What...?"
"This sword... wasn't actually made by an angel."
"......"
Jute's face stiffened rigidly.
The trembling Jute glared at Lee Han and shouted.
"So—so you've finally shown your true colors! Are you trying to insult me because I'm a black mage?! Saying you can't trust a black mage to handle this?!"
"No, I'm also from the black magic school—"
"Kallarogard may not have the same prestige as Einrogard, but it's by no means an inferior academy. Today, I'll prove that myself!"
"We respect all magic academies. ...Well, except for Baldrogard, but why would we ever look down on Kallarogard?"
Lee Han wanted to persuade him, but the other party remained stubbornly unyielding.
Realizing there was no other choice, Lee Han sighed. Rather than pointlessly causing trouble with an outsider, the fastest solution was best.
"...Apazragon? Could you maybe help out a bit? If you're listening, I'd appreciate it if you manifested with a physical body."
"Wh—who are you calling?!"
Before Jute could even finish his question, a massive lump of flesh suddenly materialized in reality.
This meat-like mass, reminiscent of a slime, rapidly morphed into a humanoid form. Apazragon, now forcibly shaped into a human vessel, cleared his throat.
"Ah. Ah. Ah. Can you hear my voice clearly?"
"I can hear your voice fine, but I think you should probably put your eyes on the front of your head instead of the back..."
"I see. Thank you for pointing that out. The appearances of mortals are still unfamiliar to me."
Apazragon rearranged his body again.
In the dimension where the Celestials originally resided, they existed as pure souls, so a physical body composed of such material organs was bound to feel alien.
The adventurers and knights present were all equally stunned. No matter how experienced they were, seeing an angel was an exceedingly rare occurrence.
But they could instinctively sense it.
The being before them was truly an angel!
What other race could possibly emanate such presence? Jute stammered as he asked,
"Y—you're really an angel...?"
"Indeed."
"Einrogard mages summon angels and keep them around?! Is that what you're saying?!"
"......"
Lee Han had no idea where to even begin explaining, and his head began to ache. Unable to bear it any longer, Professor Garcia answered in his stead.
"You can think of it as roughly the same thing."
"Th—that's... truly astonishing. I knew Einrogard's magic was exceptional, but to think they were even researching how to contract with angels..."
"...In any case, this proves that Lee Han wasn't lying, right? We only found out about it from that angel ourselves."
At Professor Garcia's words, Jute nodded with a dazed expression.
With such undeniable evidence right before his eyes, he had nothing more to say. If anything, he felt so ashamed of his stubbornness that he wanted to crawl into a mouse hole and hide.
"I have nothing more to say... Wait, did you say student?"
Jute, red-faced and about to apologize, suddenly froze.
Hadn't he just referred to the mage before him as a student?
"Huh? Yes. Lee Han is a student."
"You're not a professor?! But earlier, you said—"
"Professor Bagrak and I are professors, but Lee Han is still a student."
"......"
Jute blinked rapidly before looking back at Lee Han.
Now that he looked again, Lee Han did indeed seem like a student. It was strange—why had he assumed he was a professor?
Huh?
'...Why... why did I think he was a professor...?'
"Wait. Lee Han? Lee Han of the Wardanaz family? ...You're not part of the black magic school, are you?!"
At Jute's words, his companions could no longer hold back and grabbed his shoulders.
No matter how much they trusted their leader, today was just too much.
"Enough, Jute! You're acting really weird today!"
"Stop being so clingy! There's no way that guy's a black mage!"
"......"
Lee Han, who had been about to confirm it, felt extremely awkward.