Episode 788
Episode 788
Antagondals was momentarily at a loss for words at Lee Han's shameless attitude.
'Truly, as expected of someone that monster wants to take as a disciple—he's cunning and wicked beyond measure!'
He felt ashamed of his past self, who had once wondered, 'Why did that monster bring such a guy along?' This boy was so devious it made him question his own judgment.
From the way he had threatened and exploited an evil magic criminal during their escape, one could already see his true nature.
But Antagondals didn't explode in anger or lose his composure. Like the seasoned magic criminal he was, he spoke calmly.
"You seem to have forgotten... Heh... When we escaped from that ancient crazy doppelganger... Didn't I help you...?"
"Excuse me?"
"You... begged me desperately to distract them... when it was time for you to escape...!"
"Excuse me?"
"You damn brat... Are you going to keep pretending you don't know?!!"
The centuries-old magic criminal genuinely exploded in fury.
Lee Han, as if he had expected this, immediately launched an attack.
<Wardanaz's Telekinesis> activated, slamming the chimera-formed Antagondals into the wall.
BAM!!!
"Nilia, attack!"
"Ah... Got it!"
Nilia wasn't entirely sure who their opponent was, but she decided to follow her friend's lead.
Whether this was a monster pretending to know something Wardanaz didn't, or a monster who had been tricked by Wardanaz—either way, loyalty meant sticking together, right?
Swish!
As the sharp arrow flew toward him, Antagondals let out a groan.
'This wicked brat... He tried to unsettle me so he could ambush me...!'
Given that reaction speed, it was clear he had been planning a sneak attack from the start.
And not content with that, he even pretended not to know to set up the ambush.
Truly a vicious bastard, worthy of being the crazy doppelganger's disciple.
Sssk—!
'Guh!'
Attacks that he could have blocked with a mere flick of his wrist in his original state now struck his flesh with heavy impact, one after another.
This was all because of the punishment the crazy doppelganger had inflicted upon him.
Antagondals felt a deep gloom settle over him.
Not because of the mounting pain—a grand mage wouldn't despair over mere pain.
No, the reason for his gloom was Lee Han.
'To think he noticed how weakened I've become...!'
"Did you use too strong of a poison?!"
"Nilia! Where's the ruthless hunter of the North I know?! Get back to your old self!"
"I was never like that! I was just a normal hunter!"
Though she protested Lee Han's scolding, Nilia immediately prepared her next attack.
As someone specializing in Enchantment Magic and Alchemy, she knew exactly how to utilize her skills.
The enchanted arrow she had crafted during class glowed as it passed through her bow, writhing like a serpent as it sought the enemy's flesh.
At the same time, the thick black potion smeared on the arrowhead melted away his magical resistance and spread a dark curse deep into his bones.
Antagondals cursed under his breath as he barely managed to pull the arrow out with one hand.
"Merge... with the wall!"
As Antagondals melted into the adjacent wall, barely buying himself time, he spat out words.
"You wretch... Not only are you ungrateful, but you're also an idiot... What do you think will happen if I drag you to your master right now...?!"
"Is that so? From what I can see, if you had the ability to do that, you would've done it already."
At Lee Han's words, Antagondals's heart sank.
This boy from the Wardanaz family had clearly already deduced his situation.
"What... are you talking about...?"
"When you first appeared, I thought you had come to kidnap me under the doppelganger's orders. But the way you spoke made me suspicious."
Lee Han spoke with certainty.
The main building of Einrogard wasn't a place outsiders could just waltz into—especially not powerful ones.
And this semester, the Skeleton Principal was fully aware of both the doppelganger's existence and Antagondals's.
So how could Antagondals just waltz in like this?
'That doppelganger is too weak to be detected by the defenses.'
From barging in uninvited to failing to counter Lee Han's ambush and Nilia's attacks—everything pointed to one conclusion.
Lee Han was now certain his judgment was correct.
"You came here in an extremely weakened doppelganger form, didn't you?"
"...Damn you and your sharp instincts!"
Antagondals couldn't hide his despondency and reluctantly admitted it.
Once caught, there was nothing he could do.
"This... is a doppelganger as weak and shoddy as a mud pile... So feeble it couldn't even kidnap you properly... And it's all your fault...!"
In a voice thick with resentment, Antagondals spilled what had happened after Lee Han's escape.
Though the Crazy Doppelganger had been lenient enough to send back both Lee Han and some foolish imperial prince to the Einrogard students, it showed no such mercy to Antagondals.
-You helped him. Didn't you?
-There seems to be a misunderstanding, my teacher...
-Don't call me teacher. That title was stripped away by your betrayal. How dare a lowly slave interfere with his master's affairs?
-Teacher, if you decree my death, I shall accept it...
Feeling a qualitatively different level of danger than usual, Antagondals attempted to destroy his physical form and temporarily die.
Before approaching the Crazy Doppelganger, Antagondals had naturally prepared contingencies. No magic criminal was foolish enough to approach an ancient mad entity to learn magic without precautions.
Antagondals' contingency was a backup vessel.
Created through Ancient Magic from the Three Kingdoms era, this backup vessel would transmit his soul upon the destruction of his current body, allowing the mage to resurrect.
This was an immensely powerful and complex secret art beyond the reach of most mages. Naturally, Antagondals had full faith in this magic.
Would he have dared approach the Crazy Doppelganger otherwise?
-Stealing away your soul? A petty trick. You're trash who doesn't even know who created that secret art. Did you think you could deceive your master with his own teachings?-!!!
Shocked at being discovered, Antagondals immediately destroyed his body to let his soul escape.
But before his soul could flee, the Crazy Doppelganger gestured and sealed the magic criminal's soul. Then it forcibly crammed the soul back into the destroyed vessel.
-Trash. Your prison shall be your own flesh, and your sentence shall last until your soul wears away to nothing. If you desire even a shred of mercy, make amends. Compensate even one ten-thousandth of what you've ruined!
-G-g... GAAAAH!
Not content with stuffing the soul back in, the Crazy Doppelganger bound it with curses to prevent escape.
So vicious were the curses that even the reinforced vessel twisted into something resembling a grotesque chimera.
Antagondals had no choice but to admit he'd underestimated the ancient archmage.
No matter how lost to madness or transformed into something like a natural law, it still possessed more than enough power to utterly destroy someone like Antagondals.
"Thanks to you... this is my state now... I can't even use proper magic... and this doppelganger... took days of effort just to create... all for making contact!"
Antagondals pointed at his hidden form in the wall as he spoke.
The suffering he'd endured to create this weak, pitiful doppelganger.
Had he been at full magical capacity, it would have taken mere seconds to create such an insignificant vessel.
"Indeed. You've truly suffered greatly."
Lee Han spoke with feigned sympathy. Antagondals detected the falseness in his tone and glared.
"The teacher wishes to see you again."
"Yes, I understand. I'll make time to visit him later."
"Right now!"
"I have prior commitments. Why are you acting like this?"
"......"
After glaring at Lee Han for a long moment, Antagondals gritted his teeth and accepted that he wasn't in a position to threaten anyone in his current state.
In this doppelganger form, he'd be destroyed by one more hit, let alone capable of kidnapping anyone.
"What's your problem...? The teacher loves and cherishes you... He's waiting to teach you secret arts!"
'Does he take me for some Gainando?' Lee Han was appalled by the magic criminal's amateurish lies.
"Who in the world would fall for such lies?"
"He tried to kill me if I couldn't learn magic, didn't he?"
"And then he would've revived you... Being able to learn under such conditions is a blessing...! Why can't you recognize your own fortune...?"
"Ah. Right."
Lee Han responded indifferently.
"Understood. When I have time later, please tell him I'll join him for a meal. I'll definitely go."
"If you return... the master might treat you more kindly..."
"Instead of killing me painfully, he'll kill me painlessly? Is that it?" 'Wrong.' Antagondals gave up on persuading Lee Han.
That boy from the Wardanaz family was as cunning and ruthless as himself—utterly impossible to deceive.
Instead, Antagondals turned his gaze to Nilia. The naive-looking hunter girl might be swayed.
"You there... young mage... listen to me... I... risked my life to save your friend who was kidnapped... That's why I ended up like this... Don't I deserve pity?"
"By the way, that guy is the magic criminal Antagondals."
Lee Han whispered. Antagondals didn't give up.
"Of course... I... have committed several magical crimes... and I won't deny being an enemy of the Empire...! But... if we speak purely of debts... I did that friend a favor... Shouldn't a mage remember such kindness...?"
"...Is that so?"
"It is!"
"Alright. Then come out here, face me, and swear. Swear that you won't harm us while Wardanaz helps you."
"Of course...!"
Antagondals eagerly slipped out from behind the wall.
He could make such oaths countless times.
Whoosh!
The arrow Nilia drew—<Blade Stolen from Professor Verdus>—flew swiftly and pierced Antagondals' forehead the moment he emerged.
The clone of Antagondals, never expecting to be ambushed in this situation, melted away futilely.
"Hey! What kind of nonsense is a magic criminal trying to pull here?!"
"......"
Lee Han stared at his friend in shock. Nilia, belatedly sensing his gaze, flustered.
"What?? That magic criminal was trying to kidnap you, Wardanaz!!"
"Ah, no. You're right, but... I didn't think he'd fall for something so simple."
"...This level of trickery is pretty basic."
"Is it?"
"It is!"
Nilia flared up in anger.
Then, after a moment, she spoke in a low voice.
"...Keep it a secret that I used this kind of trick. Got it?"
"Of course. Don't worry."
Lee Han nodded as if telling her to trust him.
Keeping a small secret like this for a friend who helped him was nothing difficult.
At that moment, a bat burst out from the melting clone and let out a sorrowful cry.
"To think Antagondals would be bested by a mere young hunter...!"
"Huh?!"
Nilia, startled, tried to shoot the bat, but it had already fled far into the distance.
It was racing back to Antagondals, who was somewhere in the mountain range outside the main building.
"To think Antagondals would be bested by a mere young hunter...!"
"Wh-what's wrong with it?"
The bat continued to writhe, changing shape, and spat out the same words as if it had lost its mind.
"The shock of the clone's destruction must have left it unable to recover properly."
Even though it was just the core of the clone trying to return, the shock of destruction was too much, leaving it uncontrollable.
"Let's chase it quickly!"
"It'll probably collapse on its own soon, right? At that rate, it'll only last a few minutes before disintegrating."
"O-oh, really?"
Nilia was tempted but then heard the bat's voice again from afar.
—To think Antagondals would be bested by a mere young hunter...!
"...No, we have to catch it now! Before it spreads the noise any further!!"