Chapter 336: The Dog May Bark, but the Train Goes On (1)

“... Chairman,” Louina said, looking at Deculein.

Deculein was unperturbed, and he walked, looking around his surroundings with the curiosity of a traveler.

“This sort of facility? It lacks cleanliness,” Deculein said.

With an unnervingly chill voice, Deculein caused Ihelm and Louina to step back, wary of the hostility surrounding them—Deculein behind, skeletons ahead.

“However, what purpose brings you to this basement?” Deculein inquired.

“There were traces of the Altar in the Mage Tower basement, and many suspicious reports and demonic energy phenomena occurred,” Louina replied, a nervous gulp escaping her.

“And?”

“Therefore...” Louina muttered, her words trailing off as she hesitated.

“The scent of professors is strong here. There are also many scents of weak ones who sold their souls to the Altar,” Ihelm said, sniffing the space, seemingly on Louina’s behalf due to her hesitation.

“Indeed, that would seem to be the case,” Deculein replied, nodding his head while looking at Ihelm.

“Yes, Deculein, you would know as well,” Ihelm continued. “There are many professors at the Imperial University whose skills and abilities have risen dramatically and strangely steeply. This is especially true for the middle-aged professors who had already stagnated. The secret must be here.”

“What problem do you find in that?”

At that moment, from the darkness, a voice slithered like a serpent, causing Ihelm and Louina to simultaneously turn their eyes toward its source.

“Could it not be that we developed through our own diligence?” Relin continued.

The muttering magic professor, Relin, remained plump, gave a subtle smile, and looked alternately at Louina and Ihelm.

“This is not an impure place, as you two might think. Rather, it is a sanctum of the academy. Here, we have succeeded in discussing, training, and forging together, improving our skills as mages by one stage,” Relin added.

Louina bit down on her lips.

Relin’s aura was decidedly different now that his mana, once merely that of an ordinary professor, now faintly carried traces of demonic energy. However, this was not the cause of Louina’s apprehension.

“...

You two

might think, you say?” Louina said, glaring at Relin.

The two individuals Relin mentioned were probably Louina and Ihelm. If that was the case, then the person not among them was...

“Nevertheless, this environment requires some refinement, Relin,” Deculein muttered, approaching and placing a hand on Louina’s shoulder.

“Yes, I will see to it at once,” Relin replied with a satisfied smile.

“... You, how could you,” Louina said, her teeth clenched.

At that moment, thoughts about Deculein’s life surfaced like crackling static electricity—more specifically, contemplations on his lifespan.

... Deculein’s remaining life is not long. If I were to guess, perhaps a year at most? No, wouldn’t it be shorter than that? Whatever the case, it doesn’t matter when that remaining life ends. If Deculein is cooperating with the Altar, being terminal in itself is enough of a motive.

Because if he submits to the self-proclaimed God by joining the Altar, he can escape from imminent death,

Louina thought.

“What compels you to regard me with such intensity?” Deculein inquired, twisting the corner of his lips in a sneer, for Louina’s stare was completely unconcealed.

“You... it can’t be,” Louina muttered, taking a step back and gathering her mana.

“Do not entertain actions that will lead to regret.”

At that moment, the Snowflower Stone’s mana scattered, freezing Louina’s and Ihelm’s bodies.

Craaaaaack—

With horrified eyes, the two mages were now coldly frozen into statues. Relin chuckled as he looked at both Ihelm and Louina, then approached Deculein and bowed his head.

“Confine them to the basement, alive,” Deculein said.

“... Pardon?” Relin muttered, his eyes wide.

Then, returning to his usual submissive behavior, Relin smiled broadly and earnestly pleaded with Deculein, adding, “Wouldn’t it be better to kill them?”

“There is no need to kill them.”

“Pardon? No, these two pose a considerable threat. We cannot let them live—”

Then, Deculein looked at Relin, and hostility rippled within his eyes.

“Relin, since when have you contradicted my words?” Deculein said.

Relin remained silent.

“Even at the university, even at the Altar, and even in the Imperial Palace, you remain perpetually inferior to me.”

Every word Deculein uttered weighed heavily on Relin’s shoulders. Not only he, but also several professors listening nearby in the basement felt their very core pierced by his words.

“Bear this in mind. It seems you ran from me because you despised me,” Deculein continued, placing his hand on Relin’s shoulder. “You cannot break free from me.”

Deculein stared directly into Relin’s eyes, as if to pluck them out with his bare hands, and continued.

“Not even by death... No, even in your grave.”

An ominous, dangerous smile—deep like a serpent—appeared on Deculein’s lips.

“The name Deculein will be carved into your heart.”

“... Yes, sir,” Relin replied, swallowing hard.

***

Meanwhile, Yeriel was looking up at the dark night sky from the roof of Demonicide’s headquarters, located on the border of the Capital.

Twinkle, twinkle— Twinkle, twinkle—

The brilliant stars cast a mournful glow over Yeriel, their light like tears falling silently from the night sky.

“... Brother.”

Yeriel spoke the word brother—a word Deculein had once hated in her youth and forbade Yeriel to use. Now, it was not the word itself she hated, but rather that she could not say it, as if thorns were growing on her tongue.

“Brother,” Yeriel said, calling him once more and licking her lips.

Thorns did not grow on her tongue, but instead, a needle growing in a corner of her heart seemed to prick Yeriel repeatedly, and she wrapped her arms around her knees, burying her face between them.

... I know everything—what Deculein wants, what he is trying to do. There’s no way he doesn’t know what awaits at the end of the path he has chosen. That’s why it’s more painful to watch. Because Deculein is trying to completely sacrifice himself. Because he is trying to burn himself like firewood to protect me and this continent,

Yeriel thought.

“... I know everything, but...”

Even knowing that, it is painful that I cannot tell others. Even knowing that, it hurts to accuse Deculein of being a villain.

“What is it that you know?”

At that moment, a voice rose from beneath the roof, startling Yeriel, who looked down and saw Gawain, Ria, Leo, Carlos, one knight, one woman, and two children all looking up at her.

“... I know what Deculein is trying to do with perfect clarity,” Yeriel replied, using that as a convenient excuse.

Gawain nodded with a rather hardened expression.

“This is the Scarletborn clan’s crystal orb. They say they have something they want to say,” Ria said, tossing the crystal orb to Yeriel.

“... Is that so?” Yeriel replied and, upon accepting the orb, glanced at the four individuals, signaling for them to clear the space.

“Alright~ Let’s go, everyone.”

With the four having left, Yeriel looked at the Scarletborn’s crystal orb in the now hushed night sky.

“

Ahem.

”

Yeriel cleared her throat, easing her tension, and then she spoke to her people.

“What is it?”

—

What happened.

It was the voice of Elesol, who originally could neither hear nor speak but had recently developed a spell that enabled her to speak with a strange, mechanical voice.

“What do you mean, what happened?”

—

Why are you here.

Elesol already knew, and perhaps she was the only one on this continent who knew the

true

relationship between Yeriel and Deculein.

—

What are your intentions.

“... What do you mean by intentions? I will lend my hand to kill Deculein,” Yeriel replied. “Deculein must die.”

Deculein was destined to die, a fate he himself even desired. Although Yeriel did not wish for this, she could not break Deculein’s stubbornness, and of course, no one in this world could change his will.

—

However—

“Is it because of that—when you threatened us in Rekordak?”

Eleseol remained silent.

“It’s because I’m one of your people, isn’t it?” Yeriel continued, twisting the corner of her lips in a sneer that held a sorrowful smile. “He said all that was a lie.”

Eleseol remained silent.

“Because if I hold other thoughts, it will be ruined. Because the standing of Yukline will be tarnished,” Yeriel added, her voice trembling.

This was what Yeriel chose from among the countless sentences in the script that Deculein commanded her to speak.

“Even though he knew I was Scarletborn, he left me alone, and even pretended to show affection to me—it was all because of the house.”

As Yeriel spoke, tears gathered in her eyes, and the tears flowed naturally, without any need for pretense.

—

If that were the case, he would have killed you a long time ago.

Elesol replied.

“Even my death would be a blemish on the house. But perhaps it won’t be like that from now on. From now on, Deculein will try to kill me. I’ve already found the evidence,” Yeriel said, a subtle smile on her face.

To become a true villain, Deculein would move, and his actions would be unconventional, ferocious, and unstoppable—like a wave, like a rhinoceros, like a volcano.

“... Therefore, you should be careful as well,” Yeriel said, looking at the crystal orb.

The crystal orb remained silent.

“Because Deculein despises the Scarletborn.”

Drop by drop, Yeriel’s tears flowed and gathered on the roof, leaving small traces.

“Because Deculein will... kill all of you."

And he will save all of you.

Yeriel could not finish her words and cried silently, as if every blade in the world were piercing her heart, while the sheer agony and fear made her tremble and cry.

—

... Alright.

Elesol now understood Yeriel differently, believing that Yeriel’s tears were born of betrayal by her brother, which was entirely consistent with Deculein’s expectations.

—

Take some rest. We, too, will soon visit that place.

Elesol ended the communication.

However, Yeriel’s crying did not stop, and for a little while she contemplated her past and her future, suffering in pain at the sight of Deculein’s inevitable fall...

“

Oh

, I’m really losing it,” Yeriel muttered.

Yeriel cried until the sky brightened a little, dawn broke, and blue mist rose, while she sorted out her feelings amidst her tears.

***

Within the Sanctuary—a space constructed by the professors of the Mage Tower who had joined the Altar in the tower’s basement—I looked alternately at Louina and Ihelm.

With venomous eyes, both Louina and Ihelm glared at me, their mouths and hands bound in mana cuffs.

“Does anyone have their opinion?” I inquired, my head turning to face them.

There were professors, including Relin and Siare, who had accumulated noticeable achievements recently with the help of the potion.

“Wouldn’t it be better to kill—”

“No, keeping them alive will prove advantageous in many ways.”

Thud—!

“Should I extract their circuits to forge a Magicore, then those alive would prove more potent,” I continued, striking my staff upon the ground.

Although Louina’s and Ihelm’s eyes widened in shock, there was nothing unexpected. Magicores, after all, created living magical organisms as integral parts of a body, with the human body being just one part of the entire system.

“Do you not mean to join the Altar, Louina, Ihelm?” I inquired.

Both Ihelm and Louina shook their heads.

“... Then there remains no alternative but to render you all into Magicores.”

Good attitude. As expected, these two are trustworthy. I never thought I would come to trust Ihelm,

I thought.

“Confine them to the prison, and exercise caution to ensure that no harm befalls their lives. They will serve as excellent material,” I concluded.

Then, I made a slight scratch on their mana cuff, allowing them to escape or acquire evidence from this place.

“Yes, sir!” Relin replied, springing to his feet and pulling them away.

***

... Three hours later, in the underground prison, Louina moved her whole body, rubbing her cuffs against the floor.

“Do you really think the cuffs will loosen by that?” Ihelm said, his frustration clear as he watched Louina. “Hey, I’m asking, do you really think the cuffs will loosen by that? That’s a mana cuff. Do you really believe it will come undone just by scrubbing it on the floor?”

“

Oh

, then should I just die like this? With my circuits all torn out?” Louina replied.

“I am not saying that, but that does not look right to me. It’s like rubbing your body on the floor.”

“What? In this situation, why should I care about how I look?” Louina said, twisting her lips and rubbing the cuffs behind her back on the floor again.

“... Be that as it may, what a surprise. To think that Deculein would join the Altar,” Ihelm muttered, clicking his tongue as if he wouldn’t even pay attention to Louina’s struggles.

“I rather believe that, because it’s Deculein, he is doing such a thing.”

“What nonsense. What do you know about Deculein?”

“Of course I know him better than you do.”

Scrape—

Scrape—

At Louina’s gesture, Ihelm frowned and looked away once again, as if she were rubbing her butt on the floor.

“Deculein will die soon because he is in a terminal condition,” Louina continued.

“... What?”

“Terminal patients mostly turn to religion, you know. No one criticizes them for such vulnerability. Instead, it is most natural and very pitiable.”

Scrape—

Scrape—

Louina continuously rubbed her body.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake. That’s an artifact Deculein made. Stop rubbing it on the—”

At that moment...

Snap—!

A very slight, snapping sound was heard.

“

Oh?!

” Ihelm murmured, his eyes opening wide.

“... The cuffs are undone?” Louina muttered, looking at her two arms with eyes wide—specifically at her wrists, which had been bound by cuffs.

“Hey! Release my cuffs too!” Ihelm said, quickly turning his back.

Louina stood up by herself, disregarding Ihelm.

Then, peeking outside the prison bars, Louina said, “

Shh.

There are many Altar people here. Therefore, for now, I will assess the situation alone. Keep yourself in the cuffs.”

“What?! Hey, are you doing this for my criticism? I’m asking you to release the handcuffs—”

“Yes.”

“What?”

Louina checked her body, and although it had clearly been frozen by the Snowflower Stone, it was fortunately unharmed.

Deculein’s words about using us as material for Magicore must have been true,

Louina thought.

“Anyway, we were caught because of Deculein, and were spared because of him.”

“Okay, I get it now. I’m asking you—would you release the cuffs?”

“I thought we were certainly going to die,” Louina replied, fiddling with her wrist. “Alright. I will release the cuffs, so let’s move in silence now.”

With precisely emitted mana, Louina sliced through Ihelm’s cuffs.

Snap—!

After tidying away the broken mana cuff, both Ihelm and Louina looked out beyond the iron bars, seeing two dozing guards and five skeletons—a number manageable enough for them to handle.

“... You can do it, right?” Louina asked.

“Of course,” Ihelm replied.

Louina and Ihelm nodded to each other, then prepared a spell without a word—without even imagining Deculein’s presence watching them from somewhere far away.