Disaster Level: Claudy (3)

Senior black magic scholar, Matis Din Karl. His words suddenly come back to me.

In Matis's office. Looking at the magic tools stained black by the affinity mana I had emitted, Matis cautiously opened his mouth.

—"Black magic is contradictory. Magic is meant to pursue truths yet to come. Yet the source of black magic, affinity mana, is bound to the past. I have no intention of overstepping... but I do hope, Chief, that you might be kinder to yourself."

I had never told Matis about my past. About the Claudy family. I wasn't crazy enough to want that kind of embarrassment.

Matis had simply intuited and warned me from sensing my affinity mana.

—"I dare not presume to measure it, nor do I wish to. But should you ever succumb to blackening... "

The first time I heard about blackening, I thought Matis was just trying to scare me. It sounded like something a master teaching a finishing move would say to their disciple, right? Just a way to steel their resolve before delving into black magic.

But...

I was wrong.

My vision, my thoughts, the voice echoing in my ears—they were all unmistakably different from usual.

I realized it immediately. Why Matis had warned me so gravely about blackening.

—"Your past and origins will surge forth, Chief. I lack the strength to face them. No one but you could bear such vast ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠affinity mana. Forgive my impertinence, Chief."

Matis bowed his head and fell silent there.

But as they say, experiencing it once beats hearing it a hundred times. Even without hearing the rest, I could feel the danger of blackening.

With every breath in and out. As the affinity mana seeped into my flesh. As the past gripped and shook my body.

But what set me apart from Matis or other black magic users was this:

The source of my vast affinity mana wasn't my past, Lee Hoyeol's—it was Grandfell's.

Damn it, no wonder they say fortune and misfortune come hand in hand.

Until now, I'd feasted on Grandfell's settings. Now, those same settings were making the blackening far more severe.

Grandfell, who had only existed as 'settings,' was starting to feel like another 'personality' overlaid by the effects of blackening.

Let's trace it back...

Acknowledging Claudy was the root of this mess.

Acknowledging Claudy meant acknowledging the brutal end of the Claudy family too.

"Have you steeled yourself to pay for insulting my sister with that lowly mouth?"

Grandfell's voice ringing in my ear was chilling to the bone. Just hearing it made me feel like I'd freeze solid.

I could feel the weight of the past Grandfell carried.

...Yeah. So that's how it was, Kichi?

The Shadow Mercenaries, who took a commission related to Claudy from the demons.

The details of that commission must have been to assassinate Grandfell's blood kin—specifically, his sister.

I hadn't known, and I'd thought she was overreacting about some old business...

Her sister's hair circulating in auction houses, the family's hounds becoming crow fodder.

Learning that horrific truth...

I could fully understand why Kichi couldn't face Grandfell.

And at this moment.

The Arcana continent blanketed in affinity mana.

And the sudden onset of blackening too.

We've seen it plenty of times, even when we didn't want to. What Grandfell's blood kin meant to him.

Thanks to that motormouth never forgetting to call his enemies "sister" or "elder sister," even to those I both hate and... well.

"Ahh..."

I hadn't manifested Black Gaze or any black magic.

Yet Igignite Maxima, head of the Maxima family, was already suffocating on the affinity mana.

"Urk..."

His unfocused pupils wandered ceaselessly, his tongue that had spewed nonsense now numb, the ground where he knelt soaked.

It was safe to say his punishment was effectively over. His state was no different from the demon worshippers I'd seen in the netherworld.

But I—Grandfell—did not stop.

As if determined to claim the price for insulting his sister with Igignite's life.

Affinity mana stirred, preparing to manifest black magic.

I could sense it instinctively. If this continued, Grandfell would kill Igignite.

I understood his feelings completely. Hell, part of me even found it a bit satisfying. Igignite's words had pissed me off too, even hearing them.

Still, I couldn't just stand by.

'How far do you intend to go, Grandfell?'

I knew that irritating personality better than anyone.

Yes, that noble pride is a damn complicated thing, isn't it?

You'd surely try to shoulder even the backlash of blackening alone.

But I have no intention of watching that happen...!

In the end, it's my body that suffers?

Of course, an irrefutable reason.

But the biggest one is that I can no longer pretend not to know.

The end of the Claudy family, which I might have brought upon myself.

Grandfell's endlessly dark past.

So don't think of bearing it alone.

Amid the ceaseless flashing messages, my hand twitched.

In the end, the cause of the blackening was affinity mana too dense for me to control.

If I could just handle the affinity mana blanketing the Arcana continent...

I could save Grandfell, eroded by the past, and myself, swayed by that black history.

And right on cue.

I knew just the method.

More precisely, a newly acquired skill.

Neutral Parasite Envy. Greed, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. The legendary-grade item it dropped.

Under the influence of Aesthetics, I gazed at Envy, now shaped like a gem.

Envy hadn't budged, as if it were a gem inlaid in my jacket from the start. Good job following orders to stay put.

But now, I need to call in that favor, Envy.

Activating the skill, Envy's form shifted from gem to snowflake.

Taking a deep breath, as it were. Envy swelled several times, and my vision flickered.

1 percent.

10 percent.

50 percent...

Envy's satiety filled at a terrifying rate.

I hadn't properly tested its performance since purifying it via exorcism ritual, but it was still a legendary item, right?

I'd confirmed legendary item performance countless times through Nam Cheolmin.

So I figured Envy could neutralize even this suffocatingly dense affinity mana to some degree.

But.

'!'

...No chance, huh?

Affinity mana born from the past.

The Claudy family's past.

It treated even a legendary item as 'mere'.

Tremble!

Envy shuddered and reverted to gem form.

Not even a legendary item could make a dent.

Damn, feels like getting my foot chopped by the axe I trusted...

Clack—

My steps move on their own, chasing away stray thoughts.

Igignite draws nearer.

"Urghhh..."

In the endlessly deep darkness.

Affinity mana. What was he seeing in it?

Igignite's eyes rolled back. He flailed pitifully in the muck of his own filth.

Not just Igignite.

"Kuhk."

"My head's splitting...!"

"Gah, can't... breathe anymore."

The soldiers on the plain groaned in agony.

No, not just them.

The system doesn't lie.

Those messages clearly stated it.

Affinity mana had spread beyond the empire's capital, Antonim—across the entire empire.

Beyond the empire, across the entire Arcana Continent.

Yet my gaze remained fixed on Igignite.

At this point, I had to ask seriously.

Do you really want to go further than this, Grandfell...?

'If we proceed to manifestation here, the Arcana continent...'

It might plunge into an immeasurable disaster. A cataclysm.

But no answer came.

Not once.

My eyes didn't blink.

Just stared at Igignite with the usual gaze.

"Gah...!!"

Finally, the last convulsion?

The moment Igignite's body jerked violently.

That's when my mouth opened.

"I trust you have learned your lesson by now."

Casually, as if nothing had happened.

'...!'

At the same moment, sensation returned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to my body.

In that instant.

'...What?'

The affinity mana blanketing the Arcana continent.

Vanished without a trace.

The usual motormouth continued.

"Head of the house, Igignite Maxima. As you have paid the price on behalf of the four families, I shall stay the judgment on Yugric, Kansel, and Akmond. Of course, to reclaim your blessings, you must prove pride worthy of your forebears."

"...!!!"

The heads of the houses, save Igignite, responded in unison.

"We shall remember, Claudy."

"Kansel shall obey your will."

"Akmond pledges loyalty to Claudy."

Sudden, but let's sort out the situation.

Whether due to pride or punishment, things had rapidly settled.

Past me would have recalled Grandfell's settings here.

『As the next head of the Claudy family, the first thing Grandfell ingrained was not to rejoice or despair over trivial matters. The seat of the Claudy head allowed no tremors whatsoever.』 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

But Grandfell, you can't fool me even if you fool the world.

Yeah, in all of reality and the Arcana continent.

I'm the only one who can understand your tightly knotted heart.

So I had no choice but to ask seriously.

...Are you really okay, Grandfell?

But now that blackening was lifted.

No answer would come from mere settings.

Pat pat—

I simply straightened my attire out of habit.

Ever impeccable posture.

Hiding a heart in utter ruin.

Behind pride that could crumble any moment.