Episode 1173
Episode 1173
You're absolutely right. No wonder they're fallen scum.
Hoping for an opportunity to do so someday, the Crone made an excuse.
If you want their heads cut off, I'll have them delivered. It's not even that difficult.
If only the others were as spirited as you. My contractor would be pleased.
Contractor?
The Bishop of the Evil God Cult was greatly surprised.
That Crone lending power to a mortal?
Either that mortal had exceptionally pleased her, or the Sanguiros bastards had truly insulted her.
'Must be the latter.'
Though the Crone was a powerful being, her temperament was far too eccentric to take a liking to mortals.
She must have chosen this contractor as a chess piece to attack the Sanguiros bastards.
The Bishop could guess that the contractor's fate would end tragically. A truly pitiful fate indeed.
What, am I not allowed to make contracts?
No.
The kinder the Crone spoke, the more dangerous she became.
Having heard the enemy's name, the Undead decided not to provoke her further.
You may tell your contractor. When the time comes to sever their heads, I can cooperate.
The Undead never even imagined that the contractor might be a magic academy student.
Given that they'd made a contract with the Crone, he assumed they'd at least be a magic criminal or doomsday cultist.
Having gotten what she wanted, the Crone smiled sinisterly.
'What an easy mark.'
How refreshing. Very well, I understand!
What kind of being is this contractor? A doomsday cultist, I presume?
The Crone pretended not to hear the last question and popped the toad.
"By the way, Junior."
"Yes."
After the Crone left, Lee Han had returned to focusing on the blueprint as if nothing had happened.
Catten, newly impressed by his junior's concentration, continued speaking.
"I heard you plan to keep stealing the Authorities of Evil God Cults. Is that correct?"
"Huh? Yes. I plan to steal about ten Authorities from the Sanguiros Cult in particular."
"...I-is that so?"
Catten shuddered at the meticulousness of having already set a specific number.
"Well, Junior. You likely understand magic better than I do. Since cult Authorities are a form of divine magic, it should be similar. But I'm somewhat concerned about you stealing Authorities."
"Concerned? About what specifically?"
Lee Han turned his gaze, looking puzzled.
Theoretically, if Lee Han could steal an Evil God Cult's Authority, it wouldn't be much different from regular magic for him.
The cost was mana, which Lee Han had in overflowing abundance.
"When wielding a sword, there are times when one becomes obsessed with secret techniques beyond one's current ability to control."
Catten shared an anecdote from when he'd first awakened his Aura.
Awakening one's Aura meant a warrior could naturally wield their mana as effortlessly as their own limbs.
Naturally excited, Catten had tested various secret sword techniques he'd never used before one by one.
But that had been too rash.
Just as having limbs doesn't mean you can perform every movement naturally, awakening your Aura doesn't mean you can perfectly wield every secret sword technique.
His greed led directly to tragic consequences. Catten's face showed deep regret.
"I still regret it to this day. Losing control of my sword's power and... passing by—"
"D-don't tell me you cut down another student?"
"...I destroyed a pasture the Giants were tending. All the sheep inside ran away."
"......"
Lee Han, who had been tense, glared slightly at his senior.
You scared me!
Though the sheep escaping was indeed a big deal too. If you told the Giants it was nothing, they'd fly into a rage.
"Everyone makes mistakes in life."
"That's not where the story ends."
"Huh?"
"No matter how much I thought about it, the secret technique kept haunting me, so I went back the next day to try again. But I lost control once more and..."
"......"
"The newly repaired ranch was completely destroyed. The sheep we managed to retrieve ran away again."
Catten repeated that cycle for about a week.
It got so bad that the giants eventually abandoned the ranch and left for another location.
"Was there a particular reason you had to practice there?"
"To properly test the secret technique's power, I needed at least two large cliffs nearby—and finding such a place wasn't easy."
Catten spoke in a voice thick with regret.
Lee Han wanted to ask what kind of swordsmanship required two large cliffs, but he held back.
"Anyway, junior. I learned a valuable lesson from that incident."
"Don't practice grand magic near ranches?"
"That too, but more importantly—obsessing over power only makes a person weaker in the end."
Catten was dead serious.
Practicing magic was one thing, but continuously stealing the Authority of the Evil God Cult was another matter entirely.
The power one earned through their own efforts and the power granted by an Evil God were fundamentally different.
Even if there was no immediate price, could he really be sure there were no consequences?
That doubt lingered in Catten's mind. Especially now, seeing how fixated his junior had become on power, it worried him.
"...I see."
Lee Han took his senior's words seriously. There was one point that resonated with him.
'It's true—the structure of divine magic's Authority is fundamentally alien.'
Others offered faith in exchange for that power, but Lee Han interpreted it as offering mana instead.
If the former was worship, the latter was equivalent exchange.
He couldn't quite explain why this was possible—whether it was due to his mana capacity, his skeptical and pragmatic approach to faith, or perhaps his innate instincts...
But one thing was certain: he was paying a price in mana.
Even if the Evil God was nothing more than a mindless, unconscious mass, was it really wise to keep feeding it mana?
On a cosmic scale, it might be like adding a single drop to the ocean—but the unease remained.
'And apart from that, Senior Catten's point is fundamentally correct...'
Power itself wasn't sinful, but blindly chasing after it inevitably narrowed one's perspective.
Looking back, Lee Han had come close to crossing the line a few times himself.
Mostly when he'd been tempted to torment Professor Verdus—or Verdus' prized disciple...
"I understand what you mean, Senior."
"That's a relief."
Catten's voice carried a hint of reassurance.
He'd been worried his junior might dismiss his advice outright.
Mages weren't exactly known for taking others' words to heart—especially the more skilled they were.
"I'll be careful not to use it unless absolutely necessary."
"Good thinking, junior."
"And I'll also reinterpret the stolen Authority into magic and refine it further."
"I—I hadn't considered that approach..."
Catten nearly recoiled.
He considered himself serious about magic, but talking with his junior often made him feel like he still had a long way to go.
Was this what it took to be a true mage?
Lee Han tilted his head in confusion.
"Isn't it better to reclaim it as my own magic rather than sealing it away forever?"
"...You're right! Absolutely right, junior. Haha."
Catten barely stopped himself from saying, Normal people just seal it away—only magic-crazed lunatics try to remake it into their own spells.
He should be encouraging his junior, not needlessly dampening his spirit.
—Are you in?
"Please, come in."
Recognizing the familiar voice outside, Lee Han personally opened the door. Professor Taswan of Kallarogard stepped inside with a grateful nod.
"My, I truly appreciate the warm welcome."
"Of course. Aren't Kallarogard and Einrogard fellow magic academies of the Empire?"
At the kind words, Taswan offered a faint smile.
"Did you bring something to ask the Crone? Just so you know, there's no guarantee she'll answer."
"That alone is more than enough."
Lee Han placed a warm cup of honey tea before him as a welcoming gesture. After taking a sip, Taswan let out an exclamation of admiration.
"I think this is the first time I've ever tasted such delicious tea!"
"First time?"
Taswan nodded while sipping. Lee Han glanced briefly at Catten before shouting fiercely,
"Senior, attack him!"
True to his status as a fifth-year senior, Catten didn't ask for an explanation. He immediately lunged at the opponent and began pummeling him mercilessly.
The first strikes targeted the neck, wrists, and staff—key areas to seal any magical movements. As Taswan collapsed with a scream, his form reverted to its original appearance.
"Wait, stop! Stop! I'm not suspicious!"
"......"
"......"
To their surprise, the one shouting with blood streaming from his nose was none other than the Descendant of Ahrag.
He had brazenly come disguised as Professor Taswan.
"Move and I'll cut you down. Assassin."
True to his knightly lineage, Catten showed no courtesy in this situation. His ears and whiskers stood rigid as he radiated killing intent.
Before the senior could reduce the Empire's black mage count by one, Lee Han urgently intervened.
"Senior, please calm down. He probably came not for assassination but to ask the Crone a question."
"Y-yes, exactly! Why would I assassinate anyone, you brat!"
The black mage of the Descendant lineage protested against the absurd misunderstanding.
But Catten didn't even pretend to listen.
"Given how many enemies you have, junior, it wouldn't be strange if anyone came bribed to kill you."
"...I don't want to admit it, but thank you for your concern."
While the two conversed, the black mage sniffled and wiped his bloody nose.
To think he'd be ambushed and beaten like this by a youngster at his age.
"How? How did you see through the disguise?"
This wasn't ordinary transformation magic. The Descendant of Ahrag didn't use the crude disguises common among average mages.
Being exceptional mages themselves, they knew precisely what made disguises easy to detect.
The most common giveaway was the mana pattern emitted by living beings, followed by the form of the soul.
While ordinary mages merely altered their outer appearance, exceptional mages could see beyond the surface.
Thus, this Descendant had prepared meticulously.
He forged his mana to match the reagent pouches and artifacts Professor Taswan carried and altered his soul's form to appear identical at a glance.
A deeper inspection or loss of composure might reveal discrepancies, but such situations rarely occurred under normal circumstances.
It was the epitome of cunning honed over a century of black magic practice.
'So how was I exposed?'
"Professor, this wasn't your first time drinking honey tea."
Lee Han explained calmly.
When the professor and Kallarogard students had visited the school previously, Professor Mortum had arbitrarily served them honey tea Lee Han had prepared.
That tea had been meant for Senior Diret and other seniors.
"Even now, the thought of him casually using it to curry favor with others is truly unbelievable."
'...P-petty!'
Catten inwardly exclaimed.
To still remember such a trivial incident from earlier this year so vividly...!
It was hard to believe this was the same mage who had just demonstrated such formidable magical prowess—his pettiness was astounding.
The black mage seemed to share the sentiment, looking utterly baffled.
"So, s-so you mean I was caught just because of that?! That's... Wait, if you have grievances with the Einrogard Black Magic School, join the Descendants of Ahrag! I'll gift you enough ingredients to fill a bathhouse with that damned honey tea!"
Had the offer been accepted, it would have gone down in black magic history as the most ludicrous transaction ever.
A black mage switching allegiances over a cup of honey tea.
A tense Catten watched anxiously. Finally, Lee Han responded.
"No, thank you."
"Why not?!"
"A place that resorts to disguising as other black mages to extort answers is a bit..."
"......"
Struck by undeniable logic, the black mage was left speechless.