Act 112

Prev I TOC I Next

“Are you sure it’s okay to release him?”

As soon as we left the cabin, Pintel, who was following me, voiced his concern. 

I glanced at his face and saw worry etched on it.

“It’s fine. He’s already mentally defeated.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes.”

I nodded. 

Korund’s face, as seen through <Color of Negation>, was filled with the color of ‘fear.’

“But, I’m still concerned.”

“About what?”

“Whether Korund will actually follow Sir Julian’s words properly.”

Before releasing Korund, I had made a request of him, albeit more of a demand.

To meet with Aiden again and propose cooperation.

“Aiden might not show up at the agreed location.”

It’s a valid concern. 

After all, Korund had previously rejected Aiden’s offer.

“It doesn’t matter even if he doesn’t.”

“…Weren’t you planning to use Korund as bait to draw Aiden out?”

Despite his appearance, Pintel seemed to have a deeper understanding of my intentions. 

However, he hadn’t grasped the hidden layer of my plan.

‘It does feel like I’m still working on something that’s already finished.’

Regardless, it wasn’t part of the plan for Pintel to act on my behalf.

‘Especially not to the extent of beating and subduing a fellow bishop.’

I never imagined it would come to this.

“He might have lied to overcome the immediate threat.”

“Isn’t that why you’re here, Sir Pintel?”

I looked steadily at Pintel’s face. 

His ‘squinting eyes’ reflected in his pupils made him seem like a schemer, but that wasn’t the reality.

‘Just stay put, will you!’

This was simply to prevent Pintel from acting like a wild horse off its leash.

“I’ll assign you to monitor Korund. If he does anything strange…”

“I understand, Sir Julian.”

Before I could finish speaking, Pintel nodded with a determined expression. 

It was a firm, resolute nod as if he had made some decision, but I anticipated nothing significant would happen. 

Korund’s will had been thoroughly broken, so there should be no reason for Pintel to take action.

Probably.

***

“Lady Aileen’s paper has been rejected.”

“Again!?”

Aileen unintentionally shouted in response to the servant’s words. 

When the reporting servant flinched slightly, Aileen cleared her throat and dismissed her. 

“Sigh… Seriously.”

Left alone in the room, Aileen sighed deeply. 

She had lost count of how many times her paper had been rejected. 

“Aiden de Donassien.”

In the quiet room, Aileen muttered to herself, looking at the ‘Donassien family’ crest hanging on the wall.

“I understand the previous paper being rejected, but not this time!”

She was well aware that the head of the Donassien family harbored a strong aversion to research on the Resonance Stone and played a significant role in rejecting her papers.

“When a specific mana pattern is transmitted through the Resonance Stone, ‘mana traces’ remain in the fiber! Isn’t this a significant achievement?”

Looking at the family’s crest, Aileen mumbled her complaints.

“Or is it that half-bloods like me shouldn’t even conduct proper research?”

Feeling the intensity of her complaints, she took a deep breath to calm herself.

“Huh?”

What caught her eye was one of the scattered documents.

“A demon extermination order in the slums?”

Thinking back, she had heard about it. 

There were rumors of demons appearing in the slums, and the royal family had sent someone to deal with it.

The one who handled the matter at the royal family’s command was someone Aileen knew well.

“Julian Crypart Frason.”

His signature, stamped alongside the royal seal, was enough to catch Aileen’s attention.

Moreover, the signature, scribbled in haste, was unusually neat, contrary to his usual behavior, which made her chuckle.

“Still, demons in the slums… Though the slums have poor security compared to the capital, it’s strange to think it’s bad enough for demons to appear.”

Thinking it over, Aileen frowned slightly.

“Could it be artificially created?”

Given her recent research on the Resonance Stone, she could approach such a hypothesis.

The energy source within the Resonance Stone is ‘magia,’ and if it parasitizes a living being, it could turn into a ‘demon.’

“It’s possible. But for that to happen, someone other than the royal family must have the Resonance Stone.”

Furthermore,

“Human experimentation…”

Upon closer inspection, it explicitly mentioned ‘humanoid demons.’

It wasn’t certain, but someone had conducted ‘demonification experiments’ on humans.

“It’s not good to get caught up in hypotheses.”

Of course, this was merely an assumption.

It could be a dangerous statement.

Knowing something is a process of gaining insight, but it can also create enemies.

‘If human experimentation was indeed conducted, it means there exists a wizard who carried out such experiments.’

“So, the only way to avoid getting caught up is to confirm it with my own eyes.”

Aileen immediately stood up and put on her coat.

“Where are you going, Lady Aileen?”

“I have some business to attend to. I’ll be back late today, so you all can leave early.”

After instructing her servants, she set off.

To the slums where the demon sightings had been reported.

***

Aileen arrived in the slum area where the ‘demon sighting incident’ had occurred.

Even though the location was clearly marked, she had wandered a bit, so sweat beaded on her forehead.

“Sigh… Why did they build this place so haphazardly!”

She muttered in a slightly annoyed tone, then raised her gaze to inspect the dilapidated house.

The place where the ‘demon sighting incident’ had occurred, as noted in the documents.

Had it happened in the capital, it would have been cleaned up, but here, the site remained as it was when the incident occurred.

“Excuse me.”

After knocking on the door a few times, Aileen stepped inside.

A musty smell assaulted her nose, causing discomfort, but she entered without hesitation.

“What a mess…”

The inside of the building was a complete wreck.

The creaking wooden floorboards greeted her, followed by enormous claw marks decorating the walls as if someone had deliberately scratched them all over.

“This is a demon’s trace? Next…”

A sharp sword mark, so precise that it was clear who made it, caught her attention.

It was likely a sword strike from Julian.

“Of course, there’s no demon corpse.”

Aileen ran her hand over the darkened ground, faintly realizing that a demon had died here.

“Well, it’s already over, so there’s nothing more to gain now…”

As she continued speaking, Aileen felt a chilling energy spreading around the darkened ground.

‘This is…’

It was definitely the Resonance Stone.

Having conducted numerous studies, she could clearly recognize the peculiar energy emanating from the Resonance Stone.

Standing up, she quickly began to trace the presence of the Resonance Stone.

The existence of a Resonance Stone meant that, in the worst case, she might encounter a Tri-horn Demon, but Aileen felt confident.

‘I brought my combat memorizes and gems.’

She was prepared for the worst-case scenario.

“This place…”

Following the trail of the Resonance Stone, she arrived at a hole connected to the underground waterway of the slums.

It was part of the infrastructure built under the royal decree to accommodate the slums, but it had been abandoned following Emperor Adraton’s change of heart.

“Considering the years of neglect, it should be filthy.”

Surprisingly, the entrance to the underground waterway wasn’t dirty.

Of course, compared to the capital, it was still unclean, but it wasn’t as filthy as she had expected.

“Most of all…”

The musty smell that covered the slums was absent here.

It seemed that people who didn’t fit the typical slum profile had been coming and going frequently.

Resolute, Aileen slowly stepped inside the underground waterway.

The first thing to greet her was a barely recognizable, damaged royal seal.

Although complex emotions arose within her, she didn’t let them bother her and started to move forward.

“Ugh…”

Soon, as the presence of the Resonance Stone grew stronger, she found herself facing three branching paths.

Following the Resonance Stone’s presence alone wouldn’t suffice, as the surrounding energy interfered with her senses.

Given the situation, there was no other choice.

“I guess I have no choice but to use magic to find the way.”

Muttering to herself, she took out a wand adorned with a gem from her pocket.

The gem, tinged with a faint green glow, began to absorb Aileen’s mana and slowly started to shine.

After casting a spell, she pointed the wand towards the left path.

“Come out, won’t you?”

Aileen spoke in a cold, calm voice.

As she continued to follow the trace of the Resonance Stone, Aileen suddenly realized something.

Someone imbued with the energy of the Resonance Stone was watching her from the left path of the three-way junction.

“If you don’t come out, you’ll regret it. It’s hard to control magic in such a confined space.”

Aileen’s words were filled with strong confidence and hostility.

This was because she believed that the presence she felt ahead was the one behind the ‘demon incident’ in the slums.

“I’ll count to three.”

As she said this, intense mana began to swirl around her wand.

If her opponent was someone whose abilities couldn’t be gauged, she could easily capture them even if they tried to escape.

“One… …Huh?”

When the ambusher revealed himself, Aileen’s emotions surged.

The one who appeared was the legendary figure known as the ‘Black Knight,’ who had previously visited her mansion.

“If you don’t want to die, withdraw your mana.”

The dark voice echoed majestically, like staring into a bottomless well.

Almost entranced, Aileen began to release the mana gathered in her wand as she listened to the ‘Black Knight’s’ words.

Whoosh!

In that instant, the ‘Black Knight’ pushed off the ground and charged at her.

‘So fast!’

Marveling inwardly, Aileen attempted to cast her spell again, focusing mana into her wand.

As the refined mana began to flow from her wand, it started to form a wall of metal.

However, just before it was completed, something sharp flew in, disrupting the formation of her magic.

‘What, what!? Did he send a sword strike!?’

She had heard of knights using aura like magic, but not of those who could launch ‘sword strikes’ imbued with mana.

While she was in shock, the distance between them closed rapidly.

The metal wall crumbled, and the ‘Black Knight’ was already close enough to strike her with his sword.

‘Ugh…!’

At such close range, a mage had no advantage.

Even so, she began channeling mana into her wand for the next spell.

Whack!

“Gah, gah!”

The ‘Black Knight’ struck Aileen’s wand away and grabbed her by the throat.

Overwhelmed by his tremendous strength, Aileen lost her balance and fell to the ground.

‘Damn…’

Feeling the blade of his sword against her neck, Aileen’s spine tingled with fear.

Despite the terror of death engulfing her, there was still strength in her eyes.

“Your combat style is quite aggressive for a mage.”

The ‘Black Knight’ looked at her, then glanced down at his own abdomen.

Somehow, Aileen had managed to position a mana-infused gem against the ‘Black Knight’s’ stomach, her hand holding it firmly.

Indeed, it was a move befitting a fifth-ranked wizard.

Prev I TOC I Next