Episode 953
Episode 953
'Damn it. I got too cocky.'
Coming to his senses, Lee Han deeply reflected.
It wasn't for nothing that old fairy tales featured wizards who succumbed to evil powers and met their doom.
Evil powers always come with a price.
"What are you talking about...?"
Ilendil was flustered, wondering if his junior had already fallen under the artifact's influence.
Anyone could see he was about to explain—why was he trying to close the artifact now?
"...I was going to explain, you know?"
"No."
Before the words could fully leave his mouth, the Echo Stone was forcibly reopened.
And the illusion of the Crazy Doppelganger flowed out.
The royal family should visit in person. Tell me the location.
"Actually, it seems the problem has already been resolved."
Ignoring Lee Han, the Crazy Doppelganger spoke directly to Ilendil.
Where?
"Y-yes?"
When the humanoid Skeleton Principal addressed him directly, Ilendil stiffened completely.
Every student of Einrogard had an instinctive fear of the Skeleton Principal deeply engraved in their soul.
Moreover, the humanoid Skeleton Principal tended to be even more unhinged than his skeletal form.
The last time Ilendil had seen the humanoid Skeleton Principal, he had been tearing apart magic criminals who had attempted to contact Einrogard students in the western regions of the Empire...
Naturally, Ilendil's petrified reaction was unavoidable.
I asked where.
"G-g-g... Granden City Guard, Second Barracks..."
Understood.
The Crazy Doppelganger shut the Echo Stone. Lee Han glared at Ilendil. 'A fourth-year with such weak resolve!' If it had been Senior Diret, he would have stood his ground, saying, 'I'd rather die than sell out a junior!'
But there was no helping it. Not all seniors could be like Diret.
Lee Han sighed and said,
"You guys should head back."
"Huh? Why?"
The friends, who had been cutting off the mercenaries' coats (the fabric was too good to waste), looked puzzled at Lee Han's words.
"A different mage will be here soon. It might get dangerous."
"Wardanaz. What do you take us for?"
Their eyes burned with the warmth of friendship.
They weren't so weak as to retreat just because a dangerous mage was coming. 'Wow. They're really close.' Ilendil was inwardly amazed at the sight.
How could students from different towers share such deep camaraderie?
"It's the Headmaster's Crazy Doppelganger. Get out of here, fast."
"...But ignoring your advice and stubbornly staying wouldn't be good either. Got it!"
"Wardanaz. It's not that we're scared—we're just respecting your opinion, okay?"
The friends immediately changed their tune.
In dangerous situations, stubbornly ignoring an expert's advice could lead to everyone's ruin.
Watching the friends scamper away, Ilendil was dumbfounded.
"What... kind of guys are they...?"
"They listen well to me. More importantly, let's prepare for the Headmaster's doppelganger's arrival."
At his junior's words, Ilendil nodded.
Even if it was just a doppelganger, facing the Headmaster's avatar was no easy task.
And this one wasn't even sane. In some ways, that made it even more dangerous.
Rustle—
Dozens of branches sprouted from the ground like vines, weaving over Ilendil into the shape of thick armor.
"...What are you doing?"
"Huh? Uh... preparing, like you said?"
"......"
Seeing his senior clearly preparing to 'take the hit with less pain,' Lee Han was baffled.
"Not that kind of preparation. He's coming to teach us magic—we can't learn in this collapsed basement."
"He's coming to teach magic???"
When his senior suddenly displayed intelligence on par with a first-year at Einrogard, Lee Han wondered what was going on.
"Why else would he come?"
"Punishme— Ah, no! Got it. I'll prepare!"
Ilendil dismissed the armor and scrambled into action. Lee Han thought to himself, 'Hmm. Senior Ilendil may be a fourth-year, but his social skills are worse than the Black Magic faction's.' It was an insult to both sides.
'Will this really be okay?' Ilendil couldn't stay still in the side room lent by Daihal Dalkard, pacing back and forth incessantly.
"Junior, you said 'they're coming to teach me magic,' but from Ilendil's perspective, it was an utterly unbelievable statement."
How could the Skeleton Principal's Mad Clone possibly come for such a trivial reason? 'Shouldn't we be running away right now???' After destroying the Echo's stone, they should flee as far as possible...
Meanwhile, Lee Han was staring at Ilendil with a look of utter disappointment. 'Why is he so distracted?' Unbeknownst to Ilendil, his reputation in Lee Han's eyes kept plummeting because of this request.
Even though it had started under Diret's level, his current standing was now below Yukveltire's.
BAM!
"Have you arrived?"
"Yes."
The Mad Clone who entered after opening the door swiftly scanned the room before summoning a servant.
"To offer a pigsty of a room to a disciple of royalty. Inform the owner immediately. If a proper room isn't provided, I will hold them accountable."
"Y-yes, sir!"
As the terrified servant tried to dash out, a startled Lee Han swiftly intercepted him.
"Wait, wait! I specifically requested this room!"
"Have you developed a taste for living like a beggar in the meantime? Then again, seeing how you live at the Magic Academy, I suppose it's plausible."
'This is YOUR fault!' Lee Han felt slightly aggrieved.
Of course, the Mad Clone wasn't the actual person responsible, so it wasn't entirely fair to blame him—but he wasn't completely blameless either.
"I urgently needed a place, so I deliberately borrowed this room."
Ashan's older brother had offered to clear out the Baldrogard Wizards staying in the building and lend the largest guest room, but Lee Han had refused.
He didn't want to end up in the Imperial Newspaper with a headline like <The Arrogance of an Einrogard Student—Is This Acceptable?>.
And considering the Mad Clone's status, causing a commotion wouldn't be wise.
If the Skeleton Principal had no one else to blame later, who else would he hold accountable? He might even scold Lee Han for letting a fake tarnish his reputation while doing nothing.
The Mad Clone sighed in exasperation, as if unsure where to even begin explaining Lee Han's behavior.
"I didn't expect you to be this foolish. I should've entrusted Intarendals with your etiquette training. What do you think?"
"...Huh?"
Ilendil, who had been hiding in the corner, flinched violently when the Mad Clone suddenly addressed him.
Truthfully, he had been hiding there since the moment the Clone entered.
His junior had been chattering away, but Ilendil was too terrified to hear a single word.
"I asked what you think. About this disgraceful situation where a disciple of royalty refuses proper protocol and insists on learning magic in a pigsty."
"I-is... is it... bad?"
"Indeed."
The Mad Clone nodded approvingly at the answer, making Ilendil exhale in relief.
But Ilendil failed to notice.
The contempt in his junior's eyes had deepened even further. 'Is this guy really my senior?' Taking the outsider's side out of fear...
Lee Han grumbled internally before speaking up.
"Hmph. I like it here. Maybe because living like a beggar at Einrogard has made me fond of places like this."
"Ridiculous obstinacy."
THUD!
Lee Han flopped onto the nearby sofa. His blatant defiance made Ilendil tremble even more.
The opponent was a Grand Mage who could literally gut them!
"P-please... get up..."
"...Fine. Get up."
In the end, it was the Mad Clone who yielded first.
They didn't have time to waste on nonsense when there was magic to discuss.
"That artifact you showed me earlier, I presume?"
"Yes. Correct."
Lee Han nodded toward the artifact placed at the center of the room.
Currently, the Echo of the Demigod was suspended midair, wrapped in three layers of makeshift sealing artifacts.
And as if that weren't enough, additional magic circles suppressed any potential influence from the Evil God.
SNAP!
With a wave of the Mad Clone's hand, all the surrounding seals vanished at once. Ilendil tensed up without realizing it.
"Even if he is a great mage, to remove all the safety measures from such an artifact..."
And as if that wasn't enough, the Mad Clone unhesitatingly grabbed the artifact with his bare hands and lifted it.
"It's contaminated."
"Y-yes... What?!!"
Whoosh!
After confirming its state, the Mad Clone casually tossed the artifact to Lee Han.
As the junior calmly caught the relic, Ilendil collapsed with a scream.
'What the...?!'
"??"
"Why is he acting like that?"
"Senior's health isn't the best at the moment."
"That doesn't seem to be the case."
Ilendil, barely holding onto his fading consciousness, focused on the composed exchange between the master and disciple.
"I-Is it... safe?"
"Huh? I'm fine. My resistance is strong... Besides, our teacher wouldn't give me something I couldn't handle in the first place."
"......"
Watching the Mad Clone nod as if it were the most natural thing, Ilendil felt his barely maintained sanity slipping away once more.
Only now did he truly grasp just what kind of monster this junior was.
"I can hear the Evil God's voice, but it can't interfere beyond a certain point."
"Of course. Gods, by nature, can do nothing once their worshippers are removed. Sit. I'll explain."
Lee Han sat before the Mad Clone. Then he called out to Ilendil.
"Senior, you should sit too."
"......"
Ilendil shot his junior a resentful glance before obediently taking a seat.
The spot before the Mad Clone felt like a burning throne in hell, wracked with torment.
Sniff.
"You remember the Black Emperor's Crown, don't you?"
"Yes."
"?"
"Ah, about the Black Emperor's Crown..."
Lee Han took it upon himself to explain to Ilendil.
It was an ancient magic created by mages to artificially imprison a Demigod, and the name of that magic was...
"...How do you know about that?"
"I just happened to assist with it."
"......"
The distance in Ilendil's heart grew slightly wider.
From a kind junior who loved spirits to one who had personally received instruction in magic from the Skeleton Principal's Mad Clone.
"The principle behind this artifact isn't much different from the Black Emperor's Crown. If we remove the contamination and sever its connection to the Evil God, it can be repurposed as a supplementary tool. If we do that, even you, my disciple, should be able to cast the Black Emperor's Crown alone."
"Senior, did you hear that?"
"......"
As his junior kept provoking the madman, Ilendil felt like crying.
Was his junior trying to get them both killed by the Mad Clone?
"Enough nonsense. Focus—"
Knock knock.
Someone rapped on the door of the private chamber, causing the Mad Clone's eyebrows to rise. Ilendil trembled inwardly.
"What is it?"
We'd like to discuss the mercenaries you captured.
Annoyed by the outsiders' meddling, the Mad Clone responded curtly.
"Tell them to get lost."
"Please, come in!"
"......"
"......"
The mages from Granden City entered, expressing their gratitude.
Though they had already received reports about the capture of the remaining Evil God Worshippers, hearing the details firsthand was different.
"And this is...?"
"Ah... This is Lord Gonadaltes."
"Gasp!!! What an honor! I-I've only ever seen the skeletal form from afar...!"
"Lord Gonadaltes says he's pleased to meet you too."
Lee Han acted as interpreter beside the Mad Clone, who sat as still and cold as a statue, not uttering a single word.
Though visibly displeased, the Mad Clone did not kill the mages, crush the chamber, or—most importantly—devour Ilendil's junior.
...Maybe... he's gone mad twice and regained his sanity?
With his brilliant mind, Ilendil formulated an astonishing hypothesis.
Given that the Skeleton Principal himself was utterly insane, perhaps the Skeleton Principal's Mad Clone was, by comparison, relatively sane.
Otherwise, this level of patience was simply impossible to explain!