Chapter 25: The First Button (8)
Duval Mackenzie no longer moved.
No—saying he could no longer move would have been more accurate.
“Ugh, uhh….”
I hadn’t killed him.
I had only smashed his limbs so he wouldn’t be able to pull any more tricks.
For me, having him alive was far more useful than having him dead.
“Khak…!”
Whether it was from the pain or not, he gasped out intermittently.
Looking down at him, half-conscious, I was finally able to let out a small sigh of relief.
“Phew.”
Strictly speaking, this had been the first real battle I’d experienced since coming back to life.
I had been worried my body might not keep up with my thoughts since I wasn’t fully prepared yet…
Fortunately, it seemed that had just been needless worry.
‘I’m going to get an earful for this.’
Sister Roberta, who had told me not to act recklessly for a while.
Yuran, who had made me promise that once I found the target, I’d move together with her.
And even Lancia Jintia.
As I idly wondered how I was going to explain this to them, I casually spoke to him.
“Can you hear me?”
“Urgh, guh…”
“Good, so you can hear me just fine.”
There were still a lot of things I needed to hear from him.
Before starting the interrogation, the first thing I did was reach for his clothes and tear them open in one motion.
“Let’s see…”
Cultists of the Evil God usually carved their own mark somewhere on their body.
One might wonder why they would take the risk to mark themselves.
The reason was simple.
It was their source of power and proof of their faith.
“Found it.”
Sure enough, on his side, there was a small but clearly etched symbol.
The brand of the Evil God.
I began to thoroughly search his pockets.
As I had expected, he carried several magic tools and magitech items with him.
I had hoped to find some evidence that could link him to Rahma, but unfortunately, there was nothing of the sort.
I clicked my tongue in disappointment but nodded as if I had accepted it.
‘Well, nothing is ever that easy.’
Even just subduing Duval with undeniable proof was already a huge gain.
I didn’t know exactly what role Duval Mackenzie had played in my past life.
But if he had the skill to infiltrate the academy for years, he must have held an important position.
More than anything, the fact that his attitude had changed drastically when I mentioned Rahma…
From that alone, it was clear there was a close relationship between the two.
Since I had succeeded in capturing Duval, Rahma’s plans would no doubt suffer a setback.
While I was tidying up the scene and waiting, I heard hurried footsteps in the distance.
It was Yuran and Sister Roberta.
“Savior!”
“Lian, are you all right?!”
Arriving almost simultaneously, the two quickly scanned the area.
The library, now in shambles.
Duval Mackenzie lying at my feet, battered beyond recognition.
And the clearly branded mark of the Evil God on his side.
“This is…”
Sister Roberta glanced back and forth between me and Duval with a look of bewilderment.
It seemed she knew at least a little about Duval Mackenzie, given that he belonged to Crooks.
“Duval… ah, could it be…”
She soon closed her eyes tightly, as if she had understood the situation.
“……”
Yuran, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes and stared straight at me.
It was the kind of gaze that made me feel like she was reproaching me for breaking my promise to only confirm the target’s identity.
Startled by her sharp eyes, I blurted out defensively.
“He suddenly jumped me from behind, I had no choice.”
At that, I could feel her intensity soften—if only slightly.
He really had attacked me first, so I wasn’t lying.
…Of course, I had intentionally provoked him into doing so, but still, it wasn’t a lie.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Only then did Yuran slowly nod.
Meanwhile, Sister Roberta, who had been looking around, let out a deep breath to calm her racing heart.
“Can you explain what happened?”
“Of course, Sister. But first, we should restrain him and send him to the interrogation room—”
That was when it happened.
An ominous premonition, like ice running down my spine, suddenly spread through my entire body.
I instinctively threw myself away from Duval Mackenzie.
Fwoosh!
In an instant, his whole body erupted into black flames.
The source of the fire was none other than the brand on his side.
“Wha—?!”
Seeing that, Sister Roberta quickly stretched out her hand to invoke a miracle.
A translucent gray wall sprang up around Duval as if to isolate him, but we all quickly realized it was unnecessary.
The black flames burned only Duval Mackenzie.
“Heh.”
Regaining clarity from the searing pain, Duval let out a small, hollow laugh.
He glanced at us briefly, then stared blankly into the air.
“…Fool.”
Who had he been speaking to?
Muttering weakly, he quietly closed his eyes and was soon consumed entirely by the flames, leaving nothing behind.
“No!”
As I instinctively reached out, someone yanked my shoulder back roughly.
It was Sister Roberta.
“Don’t, Lian. Absolutely do not go near that.”
Her voice was firm with warning.
“I know those flames all too well.”
Her grip on my shoulder tightened.
Her eyes held an almost unnatural intensity of rage and hatred.
“It’s the vile binding sorcery of the Cultists of the Evil God. They sometimes inscribe a spell into the brand, so if they’re caught or a traitor appears, this is what happens.”
Sister Roberta muttered, her voice still filled with anger.
“……”
In my past life, I hadn’t often tangled with cultists of the Evil God or demons.
But if I counted just the number of times I had run into them, it would have easily gone past the hundreds.
Even so, this was the first time I’d seen something like this.
‘What in the world…’
Black fire.
Anyone could tell at a glance that it was radiating a deeply unsettling aura.
Sister Roberta, staring at it, took another deep breath as if to steady herself.
“It won’t fade until it’s burned every last bit of the branded one’s flesh. They say it doesn’t harm anyone or anything that isn’t branded…”
Even so, there’s no need to get close.
She exhaled and added,
“No one knows what might happen if you touch that accursed thing.”
With that, she fell silent.
She simply stared at the black flames in silence, looking only regretful.
At that moment, I remembered something she’d told me a few days ago—
‘For the cultists of the Evil God, the only thing waiting for them is the pyre.’
“……”
The flames, which had burned for quite some time, finally went out after consuming all that was Duval Mackenzie.
Seeing this, Sister Roberta slowly lifted her hands together in prayer and murmured,
“Almighty Ilionel, please grant salvation to this child’s soul…”
After her brief prayer, she turned her head toward me.
“Now then, I should hear your story.”
Her eyes, without the slightest wavering, were fixed solely on me.
“…That’s how it happened.”
The story only finished near midnight.
That Duval Mackenzie was the one who had attacked me and Lancia.
That the cultists of the Evil God were after something here.
And that some of them still remained in the academy.
I told Sister Roberta and Yuran everything exactly as it had happened, omitting only a few details.
“……”
After listening to it all, Sister Roberta fell silent, deep in thought.
Only after quite some time did she open her eyes again and look at me with a calm gaze.
“Lian…”
“Yes.”
“Who do you think it is?”
I had no choice but to remain silent at her question.
There were many reasons I hadn’t spoken Rahma’s name to her.
First, it would have been far too much of a leap to name him without any proof.
Second, explaining how I knew would have been… difficult.
And most importantly—I wasn’t sure I could trust her.
In my past life, no one had suspected Rahma.
And for good reason—he was a man respected and admired to the point of being mentioned as a candidate for cardinal.
Perhaps that was why.
The Holy Sun Church, the academy, and the imperial family had all been desperate to cover up the truth.
They feared the fallout if it ever spread.
‘Honestly, I wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.’
That someone spoken of as a candidate for cardinal was actually a cultist of the Evil God.
And not only that—he had planned to sacrifice hundreds of people.
It was almost unthinkable.
But Rahma was such a man.
For decades, he had played the role of a flawless priest, never once arousing suspicion, all while preparing human sacrifices behind that mask.
He had infiltrated the academy naturally over the years, planting his followers throughout.
In the end, I could trust no one.
I couldn’t even tell who was an enemy and who was an ally.
And Sister Roberta was, of course, among those I couldn’t fully trust.
‘But still…’
After a brief moment of thought, I quietly nodded.
Then, meeting her gaze, I answered.
“Archbishop Rahma.”
“…!”
“He’s the one I have in mind.”
Though Sister Roberta widened her eyes in surprise, that was all.
After a moment, she nodded slightly, as if to say she understood, and asked me,
“…Then what would you have me do?”
“You mean…”
“Lian, I have wielded mace and silver blade across the continent since before you were born.”
Her voice was even calmer and more composed than I had expected.
“I have met countless people you couldn’t imagine, seen countless things, and experienced countless events. That’s why, sometimes… sometimes, the right path is to follow your heart instead of your head.”
She added that now was such a time, and whispered softly,
“Follow your heart. I will stand with you, Lian.”
“I agree.”
Yuran, who had been listening quietly until now, nodded.
“My strength small, but I too will help. Letting vile one roam free, straying from the Sky Guide.”
She showed a firm will to help me, saying she would also inform Professor Shagas without fail.
From her words, I could tell she meant to help me not as “Yuran the demon hunter,” but as “Yuran, the student of Professor Shagas.”
‘Hmm.’
The Yuran I remembered had never revealed her true strength until the day she left the academy.
It seemed that even this incident wasn’t enough to draw that out.
‘A shame, but it can’t be helped.’
Sister Roberta and Professor Shagas—
The two of them alone were already a force to be reckoned with.
I looked at them and spoke immediately.
“In that case, as soon as you return, please make every possible preparation.”
“Wait, Lian. What exactly do you mean by that?”
“If my prediction is right, something will happen soon.”
I nodded slowly.
* * *
“The Dungeon Field Class. That will be their target.”
[The Dungeon Field Class. That will be their target.]
“……”
Lancia Jintia slowly lowered the magic tool she had been holding to her ear.
Her eyes burned quietly, yet with a blind and fervent light.