Since when was Alderson a puppet? From the moment we first met? Or had something happened to him in the past few days?
I didn't know. Maybe there were personal circumstances I wasn't aware of. Perhaps, he had infused his memories into a puppet for an efficient division of labor, and I was just overreacting.
"Your hope that things will work out somehow will explode!" Third Senior Brother's words snapped me back to reality.
Damn. I pushed aside my wishful thinking and faced the facts.
"Are you okay?" Alderson asked, his tone filled with concern.
At that moment, I felt I shouldn't reveal anything I had discovered at the academy, especially the secrets about the Demon King of the Blood Moon.
"Hero Disciple Luan?" There was a strange look on Alderson's face.
Did the puppet copy the original's thinking ability? If so, I was now dealing with an Archmage. He seemed to sense something was off, so I had to choose my words carefully from this point forward.
"I met Professor Alec," I replied with a deliberately sullen tone.
I couldn't take the time to organize my thoughts before speaking. I had to think and talk on the fly, without letting my demeanor betray the tension building in my head. Outwardly, I stayed calm, but my thoughts were racing.
"Then I saw a photo of Spirit Mountain."
" Hoh... He was more cooperative than I expected."
"He doesn't seem stable. He speaks clearly and calmly, but his lectures are laced with madness. He even brought up the fall of the empire. That's not something a professor should be preaching. Why haven't you dismissed him?" I pressed, my voice rising slightly. I felt a twinge of guilt toward Alec, but I needed a solid excuse.
Alderson studied me with an unreadable gaze. "Did you want to see me just to say that?"
"That's right."
Alderson hummed. "Then why ask me to bring Leone?"
I had expected that question. Luckily, an answer had just come to me. "Professor Alec showed me a photo of a black sun. A solar eclipse is a sign that the demon king is about to descend. That means the entire forsaken area belongs to the demon king's influence. I thought Leone might know more."
Alderson glanced at Evan. "This hero disciple is?"
He seemed to be implying, "Did you bring him here because you suspect he is a Young Dark Pope?"
I shook my head. "Evan is a trusted teammate and friend. He did well at the training camp. If all goes well, we will both be admitted to the Hero Society in the future."
"I see. You're trying to build cooperation early."
I nodded. Alderson's gaze flicked over Leone and Evan. Fortunately, they were both so talented that even I couldn't read their thoughts. Leone smiled calmly, and Evan bowed politely as their eyes met Alderson's.
Was Alderson convinced? Or did he simply decide not to press the issue for now?
Alderson spoke vaguely. "As you said, Alec's ideas are radical. But he is neither crazy nor a dreamer. The academy needs diverse perspectives. The most important part of education is maintaining an environment that doesn't breed one-sided thinking."
His words suggested more than learning from others' mistakes. They hinted at developing insight by observing different groups.
"Isn't that dangerous?" I asked. "This might sound rude, but... he could be a church member."
I thought it would be more suspicious not to mention it at all, so I decided to bring up the church myself. As I spoke, I studied Alderson's face closely. There was no visible reaction.
Based on what Leone had told me, Alderson didn't know he was a puppet. That led to a few troubling questions. Where was the real Alderson? Could he already be dead? One of the Seven Archmages of the empire, Alderson Marbour?
"That's impossible," Alderson claimed. "Alec isn't a member of the church. I can guarantee it."
Normally, hearing that from an Archmage would have reassured me. Yet now, those words felt heavy with uncertainty. Suddenly, a thought struck me. If the demon king attacked Dean Alderson, when did it happen?
I suddenly realized that I was missing a crucial detail. I did not know exactly when the demon king descended.
***
We left the Tower of Training after sharing just enough to avoid suspicion.
Leone had said nothing until right before we parted. " Let's finish everything next time."
Her words were meaningful, but my mind swirled with too many thoughts. I decided to set them aside for now.
In truth, I did not want to see Leone again soon. I reflected on my situation, but nothing had changed. The more I thought, the worse it seemed—worse than the training camp when Ahop descended. This is really fucked up.
"Do you understand now?" Evan finally broke the silence once we reached a deserted street. "That's why I said the academy is already half lost."
"Did you already know?"
"To some extent. I didn't expect Dean Alderson to be involved," he answered. "Didn't I tell you? You won't be able to escape the academy."
As I searched for a reply, I spotted a bench beneath a streetlight. "Let's sit."
"Okay."
We sat at opposite ends of the bench, not side by side, as if a wall stood between us. It felt strange, but suddenly it occurred to me that this distance mirrored our relationship. We could share the same bench and talk, yet we were far from friends.
"Is the real Dean Alderson dead?" I muttered.
"Who knows? That's beyond me. But whatever the case, he can't act anymore."
"I never imagined a Seven-Colored Archmage could fall to a demon king so easily."
"It's a demon king. Defeating an Archmage is not impossible," Evan said.
"Sacrifices..." I'd been turning that word over in my mind. The greatest mystery was how the demon king had been summoned without them. Now, that puzzle had an answer. "A puppet took the place of the sacrificed humans."
Alderson's puppet was nearly indistinguishable from a real person. It perfectly copied memories, habits, behavior, and even mana.
Evan smiled faintly. "Every student climbs the Tower of Training. In theory, Dean Alderson could create puppets for each of them."
Alderson had mentioned that making such puppets took a great deal of time. Still, it seemed possible for him to finish the task in time if it involved a senior student who had spent three years at the academy.
I replied, "Still, it is not an easy task. Some students must have shared rooms, and there must have been moments when they felt uneasy."
"Maybe rumors were spread to cover it up," Evan reasoned. "You've heard all the stories about the research wing, haven't you?"
The idea sent a chill down my spine. If rumors could be freely spread like that, it felt no different from the demon king controlling the entire Cartel Academy.
Suddenly, I laughed. I had come here to investigate another forsaken place, only to discover this was one as well. "The situation is too difficult for just the two of us to overcome."
"It's like hitting a rock with an egg. Finding allies won't be easy. We can't leave the academy without permission from a faculty member or contacting someone outside," Evan stated.
"Dean Alderson is a puppet, so the faculty members can't be trusted either?"
"Exactly." Evan looked at me and proposed, "So, Luan, shall we just kill the prince and princess? Think about it. If two members of the imperial family die, the imperial family will intervene without us having to call them. That would be the surest way to get reinforcements. Even without that, chaos will erupt, making it easier for us to move."
Was I losing my mind? Evan's plan to kill members of the imperial family suddenly sounded plausible.
"No." I shook my head firmly. "Let's find the ones we can trust."
"How? We can't check every person to see if they are puppets. It would take too long, and our intentions might be exposed," Evan shot back.
Evan had a point. I glanced at him and explained, "Dean Alderson's puppets are naturally high quality, but I discovered something while climbing the Tower of Training."
"What?"
"There is a trait unique to our Great Families that even the most advanced puppets cannot imitate."
Evan paused, then tilted his head. "The blessings? Are you going to share the situation with the other hero disciples?"
"I will hide the part about you and tell them the rest. I'll bring them in one by one instead of revealing everything at once," I explained.
"That increases the risk of being discovered," he warned.
"I know. But this is a race against time." I looked up at the sky. The moon, hidden behind clouds moments before, now shone in a shape fuller than a half-moon. "There are eight days until the full moon. We have to settle this before then."
***
I returned to my room and found Hector inside. He seemed to have come back earlier than usual today. He looked healthier than before.
Suddenly, I said, "Brother Hector, can I have a moment with you?"
"What's going on?" he asked.
Hector was a formidable force. Although Evan didn't think highly of him, I had a different view. Hector and Charon were the best candidates to act quickly.
"Brother Hector, how many blessings do you have in total?"
"I have eight. Why are you asking all of a sudden?"
"Can you show me one? Any one."
"Sure."
"Good." If he refused, I would've forced him under the pretext of sparring and then pressured him until he showed me.
Hector shuddered, then looked me in the eye. "Most of my blessings focus on physical enhancements, so this is all I can show right now."
He drew his sword slightly and applied pressure to the handle. At that moment, the number of blades multiplied.
"That's impressive. What blessing is this?"
"It's a replication one. It's not powerful, but I can replicate objects briefly."
"That's impressive enough," I praised.
"Not really. The clones last only a short time and are far less durable than the original. It's not that practical in combat," he explained.
"Still, it seems like a perfect fit for your Afterimage Sword."
Hector nodded. "Exactly. Lately, I've been figuring out how to blend it naturally into my fighting style."
The minimum verification has been achieved. He could use a blessing, and his breathing confirmed the Hector before me was not a puppet. I said, "I have something to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Have you noticed anything off about the academy?"
Hector stared at me, surprised. His expression wasn't confusion over my question but shock at how I knew. I couldn't help but ask, "Do you know something?"
"Yes, but I would like to hear from you first."
I decided to start there. I shared the unease I had sensed around the academy, the suspicious behavior of two imperial family members, the rumors about the research wing, and Alderson's true identity. I left out Evan's identity and the fact that the demon king had already been summoned, information he had already given me.
Hector did not seem surprised. He appeared to take the situation more seriously than I expected. "I understand what you're saying. I didn't think it had gone this far..."
"Brother Hector, do you know anything else?"
"The academy is dangerous right now." Hector fixed me with a serious gaze. "Luan, you brought this up because you want help, right?"
"Exactly."
"Then can you come with me to see someone right now? I swear by my name, he's someone you can trust and knows more about this than we do."
"Who is it?" I asked.
Aside from the hero disciples I trusted without question, no other skilled person seemed capable of helping us. As such, I doubted Hector's words.
"Barter Goodspring. He might be the one who can help us."
The moment he uttered that name, I had to reconsider.