Having heard the news that the Blood Ghost Clan had located ‘Aiden’s laboratory’ through the ‘Resonance Stone,’ I immediately set out for the place.
Destroying and erasing the essence of the ‘Demon Research’ kept there was essential to preemptively eliminate the dangers related to the subsequent ‘event.’
“An underground waterway in the slums…”
Just the name conjured up images of filth.
The very thought of it made ‘Julian,’ who suffers from severe germophobia, vehemently reject the idea, and I couldn’t help but agree.
Honestly, who would want to go to a place filled with polluted water, foul odors, filth, and rats?
Despite my reluctance, I forced myself to go, as it was crucial to prevent the disaster that could ruin the ‘Blood Tuesday’ event.
However, the person I encountered there was all too familiar.
“…Aileen?”
Why was she here?
No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t figure it out.
This situation had never occurred in the game.
Then, a thought crossed my mind: ‘Could she be here to protect Aiden de Donassien’s laboratory?’
I had considered the possibility, but to be honest, it seemed highly unlikely.
Aileen held a more upright moral compass compared to other wizards.
Moreover, Aiden, who detests the side branches, would never reveal the location of such an important laboratory to her.
“Come out, won’t you?”
While I was organizing my thoughts, I heard Aileen’s voice.
Did she notice me?
“If you don’t come out, you’ll regret it. Magic used in such a confined space is hard to control.”
Damn! She caught me.
‘What should I do now?’
Though I was still hidden in the darkness and my identity wasn’t revealed yet, stepping out now would surely confuse Aileen.
If ‘Julian’ were here, anyone would be suspicious, linking Aiden’s research to Julian.
‘I have no choice.’
I used ‘Sombra’ to create a mask and cover my face.
I didn’t expect to use it so soon.
‘Once should be fine.’
Feeling the mask form, I stepped into the light, revealing myself.
Though she was from a side branch, Aileen was still of the Donassien lineage, so she could potentially ally with Aiden.
It would be wise to neutralize her beforehand to avoid any interference.
As I thought this, I felt the hard touch of a gemstone against my stomach, making me frown slightly.
‘She won’t go down easily.’
The main magic of the Donassien family involves storing mana in gemstones for later use.
In other words, the gemstone pressed against my stomach was infused with mana, ready to be used for magic at any time.
‘I might be able to defend with Sombra, but I’m not sure about the power.’
I needed to try to change the situation through conversation, even though it was uncertain.
“Why are you here?”
Just as I was about to speak, Aileen opened her mouth first.
Her crimson eyes reflected the mask of the ‘Black Knight.’
Her gaze was filled with curiosity rather than admiration or determination.
“Why are you here?”
I was equally puzzled by her question.
If ‘Aiden’s laboratory’ were here, Aileen would know it defied the Empire’s arbitrary rules.
In other words, if there was someone other than herself here, it meant they were either related to the laboratory or had come to destroy the facility.
‘Could it be that Aileen has no connection to Aiden?’
Just because they are from the same Donassien family doesn’t mean they are working together.
Moreover, Aileen was one of the righteous wizards who sided with the Sword Saint until the end.
Ah, I mean the Sword Saint from the game, not the one currently causing trouble in the Holy Nation.
Besides, she also goes against the ‘pureblood’ ideology that Aiden upholds.
“Did you perhaps come following the energy of the Resonance Stone?”
The idle thoughts I had turned into certainty with her question.
“If so, put that away. I also came here following the energy of the Resonance Stone.”
After speaking cautiously, Aileen removed the gemstone from my stomach and put it away.
“So reckless.”
Seeing her so defenseless, I couldn’t help but click my tongue in disbelief.
“What?”
“Putting away your weapon without even getting an answer. Even if you did get an answer, there’s a chance I could be lying.”
The characteristic of using formal speech doesn’t apply when wearing the ‘Black Knight’ mask, so I could express my frustration plainly.
“If I were your enemy, you could have died.”
“If you were, you wouldn’t have said that.”
The mask of the ‘Black Knight’ reflected in Aileen’s eyes looked grotesque even to me.
Despite seeing such a thing, she didn’t flinch, which was quite bold of her.
“Moreover, you gave me the Resonance Stone.”
“True.”
After putting away my sword, I extended a hand to her, and Aileen took it and stood up as if it was nothing.
“Does the energy of the Resonance Stone here have anything to do with the royal family?”
“No.”
When I denied it, Aileen fell silent for a moment.
It didn’t take long for her to speak again.
“Then, the energy of this Resonance Stone must be something the royal family wouldn’t welcome.”
“Why do you think so?”
“You said it yourself before, didn’t you? ‘I work for the royal family.'”
Indeed, I had mentioned that when I gave her the Resonance Stone before, but it was more of a joke.
“You remember that?”
“That was a lie.”
Aileen frowned slightly at my mocking tone.
“Honestly, I didn’t believe it either.”
Despite her curt response, there was a hint of confusion in her eyes.
***
“Anyway, why are you here?”
After sorting out the situation, I turned to look at Aileen following me deeper into the underground waterway.
“Probably for a reason similar to yours.”
“Did you receive orders from the royal family?”
When I brought up the previous topic again, Aileen cleared her throat, trying to change the subject.
“The demon incident in the slums. I concluded that it wasn’t a natural occurrence but a manufactured one.”
“So, you came to confirm what that ‘manufactured’ thing is?”
“Yes, they must have conducted human experiments.”
Indeed, a fifth-ranked wizard like her, with the title ‘Vargo,’ didn’t earn it through mere jokes.
As she said, ‘Aiden’s laboratory’ was conducting human experiments. The emergence of humanoid demons meant that.
The question is whether Aileen will maintain her stance even after discovering the truth here.
“What if the person conducting those experiments is someone you know?”
“……Someone I know?”
Yes, it’s none other than Aiden de Donassien.
There’s no way she wouldn’t recognize that name.
“Even if it’s someone I know, I’ll have to do something about it.”
“If you’re a wizard, you’d be taught that satisfying your curiosity comes before considering morality, wouldn’t you?”
“I’m a person before I’m a wizard.”
That’s quite a noble sentiment.
Most of the people I’ve encountered so far claimed to be ‘wizards’ before being ‘people.’
“By the way, I still haven’t heard why you’re here….”
“Shh.”
<Amazing Intuition>
<Discernment>
You have detected a negative gaze observing you.
When I stopped and put a finger to my lips, Aileen looked at me with a puzzled expression.
It didn’t take long for her face to turn serious.
A pack of demons that looked like wild dogs appeared from the opposite corner.
“…Seeing demons here means my guess was somewhat correct.”
Indeed.
I came here for the same reason.
“I’ll handle this.”
Just as I was about to conceal my identity by covering the ‘Moon Sword’ with ‘Sombra,’ Aileen stepped forward, taking out her wand and gemstone.
The demons growled as they watched her.
Dripping purple mucus from their mouths, they charged at us without any hint of caution.
“Disgusting creatures.”
Swish!
The jewels scattered throughout the dark underground waterway.
As Aileen swung her wand towards the demons, the jewels in the air began to flicker a few times.
“Scatter.”
As Aileen murmured softly, the jewels in the air shattered into dust.
Of course, the dust was not just simple powder.
Each particle was imbued with Aileen’s mana, refined into tiny blades.
The demons, unaware of this, continued to charge at us without stopping, as if they were throwing themselves into a storm.
Crunch, crunch!
– Screech, squeal!
Eventually, they became so unrecognizable, resembling minced meat.
‘That’s terrifying.’
If I had left it to her earlier, my body would have ended up like that.
The thought made me shiver and let out a dry laugh.
“I don’t want to waste time on these worthless demons.”
After using her magic, Aileen seemed rather confident.
“Let’s head further inside. It will take time to verify the truth.”
“Alright… huh?”
Just as I was about to head deeper into the underground waterway as Aileen suggested, the Resonance Stone in my pocket started to emit a faint light.
It’s far too small to be used as a barrier, but it’s highly effective at detecting demons, so I brought it just in case.
‘If this is glowing…’
It means there are still demons nearby.
As expected, a sharp killing intent mixed with demonic energy was detected from the crack in the ceiling.
The same type of demon dogs that Aileen defeated earlier.
‘Aileen seems to have missed it.’
Perhaps due to her lack of experience, her follow-up was incomplete.
Recalling my duel with the ‘Blind Warrior,’ I placed my hand on the sword hilt.
Aura that retains its form and function even when distanced from its user.
Unconsciously, I realized something about the ability the ‘Blind Warrior’ used.
‘Wrapping another layer of aura around the edge of the existing aura.’
Through this, it minimizes the mana wasted in the air and allows for a more effective ‘sword energy’ that can inflict significant damage on the enemy.
“Hup.”
I focused for a moment and swung my sword at the demon that sprang out of the crack.
Slash!
The demon dog hit by the sword energy splattered blood and collapsed weakly to the ground.
“Ahhh!”
As a large demon dog fell right in front of her, Aileen, who had been confidently walking, let out a dull scream.
“What, what was that!?”
“Can’t you see? It’s a demon.”
Leaving the bewildered Aileen behind, I approached the demon struck by the sword energy and examined the wound.
It was sharper and more lethal than the experimental sword energy I had used on Fern.
‘Though the attempt to split it in half failed.’
But this was good enough.
Though I couldn’t use it unconsciously, I was beginning to grasp the realm of ‘One Strike.’
“That’s not what I meant. How did you know there was a demon hiding there?”
Her question felt oddly familiar, but I didn’t want to talk about the ‘Resonance Stone’ in my pocket.
No matter how small, using a ‘Resonance Stone’ operated by the Magic Tower carries a high risk of being tracked.
Besides, I couldn’t reveal to anyone that the ‘Black Knight’ was Julian.
“Do you need to know? It’s a secret.”
It’s best to keep difficult things as secrets.
Having said that, I started walking again in the direction of the laboratory.
“Hmm?”
Strange.
When I looked back, Aileen was staring blankly at me, lost in thought.
“Are you having second thoughts?”
Was she scared after seeing the demons?
That shouldn’t be the case.
Her magic was well executed, and as a fifth-rank wizard with the ‘Vargo’ title, these demons should be easy for her.
Aileen, snapped out of her thoughts by my words, shook her head slightly.
“Oh, no. I’ll follow you.”
Cliche Novel 