Episode 1157
Episode 1157
The anti-magic zealot remnants were truly individuals with remarkable abilities.
And among all their abilities, the most impressive was ultimately how they managed to persuade Lee Han.
Despite screaming in all sorts of agony, the anti-magic zealots proved that they were merely benevolent villains with no connection to Sanguiros.
"It was the Prahgal Cult??"
"Y-yes."
"...Doesn't seem like those Prahgal bastards are colluding with Sanguiros's lot, does it?"
"We don't know the details that well... Aaah!"
Giselle, who had been sitting and resting, clicked her tongue sympathetically.
There was no misfortune quite like this.
They were indeed criminals involved with evil god worshippers, but who would have thought it would be a different evil god cult?
Catten and the White Tiger Tower students, who arrived belatedly, also threw looks filled with disbelief.
"How could anyone be that unlucky..."
"Are you lying?"
At Angrago's muttering, Lee Han immediately reacted.
"So that's the case?"
"N-no! No!! You damned bastard! What grudge do you have against us to spread such discord?!"
The terrified remnant screamed and glared at Angrago. Flustered, Angrago apologized.
"S-sorry."
"Why should you be sorry?"
"Right? No. If you're anti-magic zealots and evil god worshippers, it's your fault!"
Come to think of it, anger suddenly flared up. Given the crimes they'd already committed, these were people who deserved to rot in the Empire's prisons for life—who were they to blame anyone?
While Lee Han continued the interrogation, Catten surveyed the surroundings. There might still be other traps or ambushes.
It wasn't that he didn't trust his junior Wardanaz, but an outstanding swor—no, mage always had to be thorough.
"You're admirable, Senior."
Angrago looked at Catten with eyes full of respect.
This senior, who had an appearance as adorable as Professor Verdus or the Pengerin Family, transformed into a venerable veteran swordsman the moment he opened his mouth.
"Where did you learn such things?"
"Ah. Junior. I learned it in the Punishment Room. You can learn many things in the Punishment Room, truly."
"......"
The White Tiger Tower students fell into collective silence. Unaware of his juniors' bewilderment, Catten continued his advice.
"Unlike the regular Punishment Room, the Deep Punishment Room has a truly diverse array of prisoners. Each of them tempts and attacks people in different ways."
"W-wait. Did the Headmaster lock you in the Deep Punishment Room?! That's really too much...!"
Unlike the regular Punishment Room, the Deep Punishment Room beneath it was where the Empire's criminals or people like Professor Verdus ended up.
To lock someone up there just for being a bit lacking in magic!
"That's not it."
"Huh? Then..."
"I just went down there because I was bored and lonely. The Punishment Room gets dull too quickly, you see."
"......"
As his juniors gaped in shock, Catten went on to explain how to fight against multiple opponents at once.
"By the way, is this corpse something you juniors from the Moradi Family created?"
"Yes, it is."
Giselle answered politely.
Though she hurled insults and kicks at her fellow tower mates, Giselle transformed into a model knight family member when dealing with outsiders.
And this transformation had many advantages. Giselle pretended to be courteous while subtly covering Hallenken's severed head.
She didn't want to show evidence of having won through dirty tricks in front of her senior.
Of course, Catten didn't care at all.
From the moment he saw the corpse, Catten had already figured out everything that had happened. And he didn't mind whether they won through underhanded means or treacherous traps.
"You used aura truly well!"
"Did I?"
Giselle's face brightened. The other students also looked at her with gazes full of respect and envy.
To receive such words from Senior Catten!
"May I ask when you awakened your aura?"
"Well, actually I..."
Giselle, who was about to say she realized it during battle, hesitated abruptly.
As she tried to say it, she suddenly felt as if she'd been too desperate.
She would have fully awakened her aura whenever she faced a strong opponent anyway. This absolutely wasn't because of Wardanaz.
"...I had fully comprehended it even before the battle."
"Ooh!"
"Moradi...! You hid this from us too?!"
The students shuddered anew at Giselle's cunning.
Had this incident not occurred, wouldn't she have secretly kept her mastery of aura hidden while cunningly setting traps?
Just imagining how she might have made bets about whether she could use aura or not and effortlessly cleaned them out sent shivers down their spines.
"One near the southern gate's market alley, another in the eastern temple district... No, quite bold. Good. I'll trust you."
While the White Tiger Tower students chattered behind him, Lee Han finished the interrogation.
Having learned all the locations where their enemies were hiding, he now planned to strike immediately without giving them any openings.
He'd also send word to Commander Garcia and her Death Knights waiting outside.
'Ah. I unconsciously thought of the professor as the leader of the knights.'
"I'll extract the parasites now."
"Wait, wait!"
The remnants screamed in sudden fright.
Of course they wanted these evil god's parasites embedded in their souls removed immediately. It was because of these parasites that they'd been helplessly defeated by this rookie mage.
But the possibility they might end up like Hallenken earlier terrified them.
"Don't worry. Hallenken turned out that way because he didn't realize curses had accumulated. I'll remove all the curses first before extracting the parasites."
"Th-thank you."
The remnants momentarily exchanged sly glances.
If both the curses and parasites were completely removed, they'd have no reason to stay. They planned to immediately break through the back wall and escape.
But the rookie mage they were dealing with was far more tenacious than they'd thought.
"Senior? And the rest of you - stop chattering and come here."
Catten and the others swarmed over. Lee Han pointed at the remnants and said:
"Keep your swords pointed at them."
"If anything seems suspicious, I'll cut them down immediately."
Catten immediately understood what his junior wanted and nodded readily.
The anti-magic zealots shook their heads with ashen faces.
They'd thought him careless, but he'd anticipated everything...
"Good. I'll extract them now."
Crunch!
A cracking sound similar to what had come from Hallenken erupted from their souls. The remnants trembled violently before freezing completely.
Simultaneously, multiple parasites gathered into Lee Han's grasp and merged into one.
The parasite tried to resist and escape, but against Lee Han who'd already stolen the evil god's Authority, there were limits. It had its control wrested away and submitted.
'Done.'
And right then, the parasite opened its mouth and cried out eerily:
Who are you?
"!"
Everyone present was startled. Lee Han reacted first among them.
"And who might you be? A minion of the evil god?"
You mortals who fail to comprehend may call me that.
Despite the provocation, the other party responded calmly.
Seeing this, Lee Han clicked his tongue inwardly.
'Not an easy opponent.'
Among enemies, those who never acted emotionally but always maintained the same demeanor were always the most frightening.
Especially since evil god worshippers usually overflowed with madness in every action - yet this one remained so detached.
"I don't recall having any recent grievances with you mages, yet you attack me first. I suppose you're not afraid of retaliation."
"'No recent grievances'? What kind of..."
Lee Han was dumbfounded.
Weren't these the very same people who had committed terrorist acts by summoning monsters from the Undead Realm just this year?
However, Giselle lightly kicked the back of his heel.
"?"
'Snap out of it. That was when you were Stedal Nago.'
At her whisper, Lee Han realized his mistake.
Come to think of it, he had fought them under the identity of Stedal Nago back then.
"What a cunning bastard. Trying to fish for my identity with such a simple question."
'I don't think that was his intention though...?'
Giselle looked puzzled, but Lee Han had already made up his mind.
"Don't play cheap tricks. You should be the one worrying about retaliation."
"Hahaha... Quite the bold one, aren't you, mage? Haven't you heard about the plague spreading through the city?"
The Undead mocked the mage.
Though he didn't know what method they had used to capture the Authority's insects, by now the plague should have already started spreading on its own.
Even without more insects, the infected citizens would spread the plague among themselves.
"......"
"......"
Lee Han and his friends exchanged complicated glances.
For a moment, he considered telling them they had already cured the plague and captured the insects, but then he thought—why bother showing such kindness to these bastards?
"We couldn't care less even if a disaster greater than the plague comes our way."
"Indeed. That's what I'd expect from a mage. So there are some among you who aren't weaklings after all. But remember this—the great Reanimator's plans cannot be hindered by mere mortals like you. You'll only be branded! I'll make sure to remember what you've done today."
"Do as you please. I'll remember you too, since you've already interrupted my day."
"The plague isn't an interruption. It's evolution. For imperfect lifeforms—"
"I wasn't talking about the plague. I meant the Sanguiros Cult."
Lee Han retorted bluntly.
In the past, he might have flinched at an evil god worshipper's threats, but these days, they just annoyed him.
Why did these bastards, who hid in the shadows playing petty tricks, have to be so damn talkative?
"Sanguiros?"
The Bishop of the Prahgal Cult was taken aback by the unexpected name.
Considering how little could shake this fanatic, this was truly surprising.
Why was that name being brought up here?
"We were hunting them down when your gang got in the way and got caught."
......
The Undead was left speechless by the humiliation he hadn't felt in a long time.
He had always remained composed in the face of any provocation, but this...!
"You're lying. Such lies—"
"Whether it's a lie or not, you can verify it yourself. If you don't want to be exterminated next time, stay out of my sight."
Lee Han, no longer willing to waste words, completely annihilated the Authority's insect.
...!
Even from another dimension, the complete annihilation of the Authority's insect was palpable.
These insects were akin to fragments of the Undead's own soul—when destroyed, the backlash was immediate.
The Undead groaned from the unexpected blow. He had been dealt a solid hit.
How could this be...?
He had known the mage extracted the insect, but he assumed it was done through purely magical means.
But now it was clear—the opponent had control over the Authority itself. Without giving him a chance to react or counter, they had instantly destroyed the insect.
Even the most skilled mages couldn't steal divine Authority. Just who the hell was this?
'Could the Sanguiros story be...? No. It must be a provocation.'
The Undead felt himself wavering.
He had heard reports of Sanguiros' remnants running wild with reckless abandon recently, which only unsettled him further.
His long-prepared plans wouldn't be derailed by something like this, but if problems did arise, how should he retaliate against these remnants?