An eye for an eye.

Henry’s issue was that he had made this whole endeavor too difficult for himself. He wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble in the first place if he had just summoned Dracan.

After he got the idea, Henry immediately prepared for necromancy.

He had earned a second chance in life through necromancy, and he had successfully cast necromancy on several people, including Hector, so he could easily prepare for the first part of it.

Henry had made all the preparations for the ritual except for one thing—a memento of Dracan.

One couldn’t summon a spirit without a memento of the dead person. Of course, obtaining Dracan’s memento would be quite easy, since Henry planned to use Skall, who always helped him find what he needed.

Soon, Skall appeared. He rubbed his bloated belly before speaking to Henry.

- So when are you planning to pay me?

“I’ll pay you all at once after this.”

- Great. So what do you need this time?

“You remember Dracan, right? I need a memento of his.”

- Oh, I was wondering what it was. Okay then, I’ll prepare the invoice including this deal, so make sure you have enough to pay me.

“Do as you please.”

Skall shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small pendant.

- You know, this pendant has a backstory to it.

“A backstory, you say?”

- Yeah. When Dracan swore allegiance to Arthus, he gave this pendant to Dracan as a token of his loyalty.

“... What a useless thing.”

- For you, yes, but to Dracan, this was one of his most prized possessions.

“Okay then, if it’s that sentimental, it’ll be perfect to use as a sacrifice.”

- Yeah. Good luck.

Skal left the pendant and disappeared.

Henry took the pendant and carefully examined it.

The pendant was decorated with fancy jewels, and it didn’t seem to be an artifact.

‘Is this really just a simple token of acknowledgement?’

Given how wicked and deceitful Arthus had been, Henry had expected this pendant to be some kind of trick, an ace up his sleeve, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

The final preparations were complete. Henry placed the pendant in the center of the necromantic ritual and started chanting.

“Come forth.”

One of the upsides of being god was that the demonic language no longer sounded like a foreign language to him.

The black magic language, demonic language, and divine language were all the same. Henry had gotten used to that fact during his conversations with the demons in the Demon Realm, so he no longer had any issues discerning those languages.

As he chanted, the ritual reacted to the sacrifice and Henry’s divine power. The air distorted in the center of the necromantic ritual, revealing a portal to the Underworld.

At one point, Henry had wondered if the Demon Realm and the Underworld were the same place, but now that he had been to the Demon Realm, he knew that wasn’t the case.

Through the portal to the Underworld, Henry could see a familiar visage.

It was Dracan. He appeared in his normal form, before his evolution. He had the same angular, ghostly pale face Henry remembered.

The portal to the Underworld disappeared, and Dracan, who now lay in the center of the ritual, slowly opened his eyes.

“Are you awake?” asked Henry.

- You’re…!

“Why are you surprised? Anyway, it’s been awhile. I’ve missed that mug of yours.”

Henry was being honest. He hadn’t realized just how much he had longed to see Dracan until the idea of summoning him had flashed through his mind.

The flesh under Dracan’s eyes twitched as Henry welcomed him.

Henry quickly erased the smile off his face, and with a stern expression, he said, “I heard the blind believers that are wondering outside are your work?”

- That’s right.

“How do you turn the blind believers back to normal?”

- You really think I’m going to tell you that?

“So that’s how it’s going to be, huh?”

Henry had expected nothing less. He understood Dracan’s feelings, but that was it. He had no intention of understanding Dracan’s actions that resulted from those feelings.

Henry’s lips twitched, and at the same time, the air grew cold.

“You don’t get it, do you? You think I’m

asking

you right now?”

- Yes, you’re angry. So what? Why should I tell you?

Henry was puzzled by Dracan’s confidence. He even wondered if Dracan had something up his sleeve. However, he also knew from Hector what kind of life Dracan had to have been living in the Underworld.

In any case, arguing like that with Dracan would be pointless, so Henry decided to change his approach. If he couldn’t threaten or scare Dracan, he would try giving him an incentive.

“You seem rather proud of yourself,” Henry said in a calmer voice than before. “Do you not feel the slightest bit of regret or shame for what you’ve done?”

- Think of it what you will.

“Okay then, if that’s how you feel, I have nothing else to say. But… are you aware that I’ve defeated your master, Arthus?”

- … What?

Dracan’s eyes were twitching.

It seemed that he hadn’t known, but it wasn’t that surprising. Just because Arthus’ soul had gone to the Underworld didn’t automatically mean that the two had met.

“I defeated Arthus. I also became the first man to reach the 9th-Circle, and the gods themselves have acknowledged me as the god of magic,” continued Henry.

- Wh-what…?

“It’s just as I’ve said. Do you want me to repeat myself?”

- You expect me to believe that?

Dracan stuttered his first words.

Henry couldn’t see the change in his expression because he was merely a bluish apparition, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t need to see Dracan’s face to know he was shocked.

Henry held out to Dracan the pendant he had received from Arthus.

“If you don’t believe it, see for yourself. Why do you think I have this? And…”

Henry opened his palm, and a blue flame appeared, soon turning into a blue dragon. It was the Magic Insignia, a unique identification token that all wizards used.

Henry’s Magic Insignia was a blue dragon. He was officially the second person to carry the blue dragon Magic Insignia, which was said to be the only one in the world.

The blue dragon, which was the size of Henry’s palm, flapped its wings and soared in the air. It then spat blue flames into Henry’s palm.

Henry was controlling this dragon, so the flames weren’t burning him. The flames formed a giant circle, which then turned into a heart, and nine rings emerged around it.

A blue heart with nine rings—Henry showed Dracan his mana cores through his Magic Insignia.

“I don’t have to tell you what this is, right?”

- Th-this is…!

Dracan’s voice was quivering, his confidence having vanished completely.

Henry had reached the 9th-Circle, but he hadn’t told anyone, not even Lore. He had no particular reason for that. He just didn’t think it was necessary to reveal that he had become a 9th-Circle and had gained dimensional powers when he had already been acknowledged as the god of magic just by the fact that he was an 8th-Circle.

It was better to save important information for when it was needed, so Henry would reveal his little secret when the time was right.

Thus, Dracan was the first to know that Henry had become a 9th-Circle. He was distraught by the sight of Henry’s heart with nine rings attached to it. He didn’t know what to do or what to say.

Seeing Dracan at a complete loss, Henry smirked. To wizards, reaching the 9th-Circle wasn’t a dream, but a myth, a legend, something that everyone wanted to witness at least once in their lifetime.

Therefore, to be able to lay eyes on someone who had reached the 9th-Circle would be a great blessing for any wizard. Even if they themselves weren’t at that level, the mere confirmation that the 9th-Circle was real was enough to garner their admiration.

Dracan had betrayed everything Henry stood for and become an enemy of humanity. Moreover, he had died at Henry’s feet without so much as leaving a bone behind. And yet, Henry revealed to him the legendary 9th-Circle, so Dracan was more than grateful to him.

Dracan’s mouth hung open, and he couldn’t think of anything to say. Henry waited patiently for him to find his words.

Finally, Dracan knelt down on both knees and apologized profusely.

- Please forgive my impudence, God of Magic…

“At least you know now.”

The mere act of witnessing greatness was a great honor to some, and that was exactly the case with Henry’s 9th-Circle.

Henry smiled as he stood before Dracan, whose allegiance had taken a one-eighty after witnessing his Circle.

“I don’t need your praise, just your help. I’ve been stuck with those damned blind believers for half a year now.”

The solution to the problem seemed to be right in front of him, so Henry asked for help in a somewhat cheerful tone.

However, Dracan hesitated.

- G-God of Magic… Uh… The thing is…

“Huh?”

Henry had a bad feeling as he watched Dracan panic, and he soon received his confirmation.

- To tell you the truth… I don’t know the solution either…

“What?”

Henry felt like a thunderbolt had struck his ears. A heavy silence fell between them.

How was it possible that the one who had created the blind believers didn’t know how to turn them back?

Henry shook his head, unwilling to accept what Dracan had just told him.

“What do you mean,

you don’t know

? That doesn’t make any sense. Even those who create poison make an antidote beforehand. So how come you, a wizard, don’t know?” argued Henry, raising his voice.

Despite the anger in his voice, Henry was panicking slightly. He just couldn’t accept such an outcome.

However, Dracan’s answer didn’t change.

- I-I apologize! The truth is that… I actually succeeded by coincidence, and I don’t know how…

“What?”

Henry couldn’t believe it. He shook his head and cursed under his breath like a mad man. Seeing him like this, Dracan lowered his head even more.

Henry’s only hope had disappeared as fast as it had appeared.

***

- Master, I’ve put them in the underground prison as usual.

“...Okay.”

- Then I’ll take my leave.

Klever had returned from capturing more blind believers, and as usual, he reported his activities to Henry after he finished up with his duties.

Henry acknowledged Klever’s report with a desponded voice, not even looking at him. Klever wanted to ask him why he was so downhearted, but he ultimately decided to leave him be.

After Klever disappeared, Henry let out a heavy sigh.

“Ha…”

He had thought that Dracan would be the solution to his problems, but he had turned out to be useless, just like everything he had tried.

It was suffocating. He never would’ve guessed that Dracan had merely succeeded by luck.

Henry lowered his head as he sighed. He didn’t feel good.

Of course, he understood why Dracan had conducted his experiments that way. It was always easier to destroy than to preserve. In that sense, Dracan had probably had no difficulties in creating his invention.

However, the tables had eventually turned, and things hadn’t ended up the way Dracan had predicted. Henry and everyone else desperately needed a cure for the blind believers.

“

Tsk

!”

Henry grabbed at his hair and writhed in frustration and pain. If he could, he would go back in time right that second and stop Dracan. If only that were possible, he wouldn’t have to deal with this bullshit.

However, that was just a hopeless fantasy, and it would cause Henry even more anguish.

‘...!’

But just then, an idea struck Henry out of nowhere.

“...Wait a minute. Turning back time…?”

Perhaps it wasn’t a hopeless fantasy.