The Seed of Doubt
Begins In: 5 Minutes 22 Seconds
After escaping Snowfield Village, I ran toward the dark mages’ gathering with everything I had, following the information I’d torn from Cal Vent’s memories. Only about five minutes remained. Even at a full sprint, the timing would be razor-thin.
“Huff… huff…”
Snow piled past my ankles in every direction, and the bone-deep exhaustion from the battle pressed down on me like a mountain. Still, I ran. By the time the thoughts of pain and fatigue had been squeezed from my mind, a small cabin came into view on the distant mountainside.
The cabin whose location was known only to dark mages of High Priest rank or above.
I slowed my breathing and steadied my body as I drew near.
Alteration. Target: Cal Vent.
"Modulation: By denying the world, the target's voice and physique are projected onto the main body."
⟨ Alteration ⟩
A sickening crunch rippled through me. In an instant my body transformed into an exact replica of Cal Vent’s, even the voice that slipped from behind the mask matched his perfectly.
The most important part is the dark mana… It should be fine.
There was a chance the difference in dark mana could expose me, but strangely enough, the structure of my dark mana was almost identical to Cal Vent’s. That was why the ordinary believers had never realized I wasn’t him, and why Cal Vent himself had muttered in wonder during our fight. It was truly bizarre, but thanks to it, I wouldn’t have to worry about my dark mana giving me away.
As I approached the cabin, a dark mage stepped forward to block my path.
“…Show me your dark mana.”
“………”
Without a word I raised my dark mana and formed a small blade. The dark mage silently stepped aside. Just as I had predicted, no one had seen through my disguise as Cal Vent.
I followed the path inside the ordinary-looking cabin.
Shimmer—
“……!”
The moment I stepped through the open door, it felt as though I had passed through a transparent membrane. The scenery flipped in an instant. Instead of the cramped interior I had expected, I found myself in a vast, dark space filled with a long table and chairs, exactly like the underground assembly hall beneath the academy.
So even the cabin on the outside had been an illusion.
I offered a short bow to those already seated, then took the chair that Cal Vent had usually occupied. Since the information had come from his own memories, there should be no room for suspicion.
A vast amount of dark mana has been detected. Total dark mana volume and proficiency have increased.
Begins In: 0 Minutes 17 Seconds
Thankfully, my desperate sprint had kept me from being late. No one entered after me, and every chair was occupied. It seemed I had been the last to arrive.
“Then let us begin today’s dark mage assembly. Carmen, you will give your report first, as usual.”
“Yes, Your Eminence. Regarding the orders you gave…”
At the old man’s prompting, the dark mages began reporting on their assigned tasks one after another. Most of the village raids they had undertaken seemed to have ended in failure. The reasons ranged from simple arrogance on the part of the dark mages to sudden intervention by mercenaries and mages. Not a single raid had gone unnoticed, and in most cases the dark mages had been subdued by people who just happened to be in the villages at the time.
“…The raid failed due to the intervention of mages.”
“……I see. That is enough.”
Thanks to the constant stream of failure reports, I was able to claim that Cal Vent’s mission had also failed without drawing any particular scrutiny. Every time another admission of defeat rang out, the veins on the old man’s wrinkled forehead bulged, and the dark mages naturally fell into a heavy silence.
After a long, oppressive pause, the old man let out a deep sigh and spoke again.
“So… that is how it turned out…”
“…………”
“Then we will change our plan. All raids on the minor villages are canceled.”
The old man gave a bitter smile, then pointed at the map behind his chair with an expression steeped in malice. The map displayed the major families, territories, and villages of the northern continent.
“Snowfield… Winter Village. None of the others matter anymore.”
With the red pen that had been lying beneath the map, he slashed giant X’s across all the smaller villages. The dark mages remained silent, sensing both madness and rage in his demeanor. Once he had finished marking every minor settlement, only one name remained.
“Do you see this village, Cal Vent?”
“It is… Frost Territory.”
“Yes… the heart of the North. The place where that damned bastard resides, and where the most suitable vessel—that rotten girl—can be found. From now on, our target is here.”
The sole remaining target was Frost Territory. The largest domain in the North, the giant that protected the entire northern region. The place where the Duke of Frost and Erielle lived.
The old man declared that they would launch a full-scale assault on it.
Is this… even possible?
The Duke of Frost is there…
Even so, attacking Frost Territory seems a bit…
“Does anyone dare object?! If so, speak now!!”
“…………”
At the old man’s declaration that they would attack a territory guarded by a man said to rival a Sword Master, even the dark mages began to murmur. But no one was foolish enough to defy him; his bloodshot eyes and the thick veins pulsing on his wrinkled forehead silenced any protest.
“The assault will take place in five days. Gather every last dark mage under our command. No matter what it takes, we will bring Frost Territory to ruin.”
““Yes, understood! For the Dark God!!””
“After we turn Frost Territory into a wasteland, we will destroy the academy!! That is when our true cause begins!!”
The old man cackled like a madman while the other dark mages stretched their arms toward the sky, chanting the name of their dark deity. Watching the repulsive insects writhe in ecstasy, I felt rage consume every inch of my body.
…Fine. Try it. I’ll stake everything I have to stop you.
Dark Mana Proficiency Lv.6 → Lv.7
A new skill has been unlocked.
Hidden in their blind spot, I forged a blade of pure fury.
Two days had passed since Venice’s appearance in Snowfield Village.
Erielle had not set foot in the academy. She remained locked inside her room, refusing food or water, not making a single sound.
Knock, knock, knock—
“…Erielle. It’s me, Kayle. Fria is here too. So… could you come out for just a moment?”
“……………”
Even though Kayle and Fria pleaded desperately at the door, Erielle gave them no answer.
“Whenever you’re ready… please talk to us.”
“…Yeah. We’ll leave for now.”
“……”
On the verge of tears, Kayle and Fria stared at the door of their broken friend’s room for a moment, then wiped their eyes with their sleeves and left.
Inside the room, Erielle lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling with lifeless, hollow eyes.
“…………”
Even after they left, she made no sound, showed no movement. Like a robot whose battery had been pulled. Like a broken toy that could only draw in shallow breaths and let them out again.
“…Lady Erielle.”
The face of Venice that had appeared from behind the shattered mask still floated clearly before her eyes. That expression filled with pity, as though he had so much he wanted to say. The dark mage she had always found repulsive and disposed of without hesitation. Venice had been one of them.
Filthy insects that harmed innocent people and gnawed away at the world. To Erielle, that was what dark mages were.
Even when she had seen Venice wearing a dark mage’s robe, even when he had left behind a single apology before disappearing, she had refused to believe it. She had clung to the conviction that if it was Venice, there must have been a reason he had never spoken of using dark magic.
“No… no… this can’t be real…”
“Kihihi… kekeke… what a ridiculously entertaining sight…!”
After Venice had left, while Erielle sat collapsed and denying reality, a wounded dark mage had crawled toward her. Even as Kayle and Fria hurled attack spells at him, he kept cackling without pause. Since he was going to die anyway, he would at least speak his mind.
“Did you really think that bastard stayed by your side for your sake, you stupid bitch?! It was all a trick!!”
“Ah… ah…”
She covered her ears with both hands to block out the dying man’s screams, but her blessed body, which surpassed human limits, delivered every word with perfect clarity.
Venice had not approached her by chance. It had all been for their cause. He had earned her complete trust only to stab her in the back and offer her up as a sacrifice for their grand design.
The dark mage eventually died beneath Kayle and Fria’s spells, but the words he spat before his death began to circle endlessly inside Erielle’s mind.
At first she had refused to listen, refused to believe. Because Venice… surely could not be that kind of person.
Yet on the day she returned home instead of going to the academy, her father had smashed the dining table in half upon hearing the news, and her mother had stormed out in fury. Her brothers wore expressions of rage she had never seen before and hurled every curse and insult they could think of at Venice. Every servant, every one of her closest friends—even Fria and Kayle—spat venom at his name.
Under the weight of everyone’s words and gazes, Erielle’s heart slowly shattered.
No. Venice isn’t that kind of person.
…Then why did he hide the fact that he used dark magic?
There must have been a reason. Because Venice isn’t that kind of person.
…Then why did he leave me there without a single word?
Erielle asked herself endless questions, gave herself answers, and denied them. But the more she repeated the cycle, the only thing left was suspicion toward Venice.
…What if Venice really had approached me only to earn my trust and use me?
What if the dark mage’s words had been true?
The way he had saved her from the cave when she had given up all hope. The times they had fought dark mages together. The way he had smiled so happily over mere pancakes on a snowy day. And the way he had painted the most vivid colors across her monochrome world.
What if every single one of them had been nothing but a perfect act to deceive her?
Once that thought took root, every moment she had spent with Venice flashed before her eyes like a lantern show. Meaningless yet not unpleasant times. Moments that had slowly taught her emotions she had forgotten for her entire life. If all of it had been an act for the sake of those repulsive dark mages’ cause—
“…………”
It was then. The moment the malignant seed called suspicion took root, the faint light that had only just begun to shine in Erielle’s eyes died once more, becoming even murkier than before.
Suspicion.
She began to doubt every word, every action, every expression and habit of Venice’s. His hobbies, his preferences—everything.
Erielle returned to her room. Despite her parents’ and friends’ questions and pleas. No, she could not even hear their voices. She was no longer capable of perceiving or processing them.
So she continued the endless cycle of questions and answers, and a full day passed. Swept along by waves of thought that never let her sleep, a day went by, yet she felt no fatigue at all.
—…!!
—…Eri…
She thought she could hear some kind of noise from outside the room, but it still did not reach her. Erielle kept thinking.
The difference from yesterday was that her suspicion toward Venice’s behavior had sprouted even more vigorously and was growing. She would think of Venice, who had once saved her, and erase the thought. Yet the slightest trigger would make the suspicion bloom again.
Two days passed.
What if. What if Venice truly had approached her only to target her and earn her trust?
Erielle’s eyes died. Her heart ached more than twice as much. A pain like having her heart stabbed and gouged by countless needles assaulted her. The moment she accepted that every second spent with Venice had been a lie meant to use her, her head throbbed as if it would split open.
Drop…
From her dead eyes, only small tears fell silently. The pillow beneath her head was already soaked through, yet she could not even register it.
The person she had trusted most, wanted most to trust. The person she had been most curious about, most interested in. The reality that he might have betrayed her.
Even as she rejected it, Erielle began to be dragged back into the abyss she had barely escaped. Hands bursting from within it bound her body and pulled her down. The colorless life she had escaped thanks to Venice was once again dyed in darkness because of him. The monster was dragged back into the monochrome garden it had only just left. The door to her heart that had only begun to open was sealed beneath layer after layer of locks, never to open again.
“……”
By the time her thoughts reached that point, Erielle’s eyes had died completely, and the heart that had only just begun to feel warmth froze cold. Even so, clinging to the last sliver of hope, she continued the endless cycle of suspicion and answers today as well. Without realizing she was dying, without stopping, without end…