Chapter 81: The Second Time For Sure (7)

‘K-kill my disciples with my own hands…’

As he looked at the dagger that had fallen in front of him, Kale’s chin shook as if he were about to burst into tears. His disciples were like his children. He had taught them with affection ever since they enrolled at the magic academy. In addition, since most wizards were single for their entire lives, their disciples were especially significant to them. He struggled with the decision; he was a violent person, but even tigers and lions loved their cubs.

“Why? You can’t do it?” Henry asked in a calm voice.

“I-I…!”

It was suffocating. The pressure was like a tidal wave for Kale. It was as if the sea levels were rising and he was shipwrecked, with no other choice open to him. Kale could feel two pairs of eyes staring at him. He felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff.

‘I can’t… How could I possibly kill my disciples with my own hands…?’

Kale couldn’t look anywhere else, so he turned his attention to the dagger in front of him. He finally realized what it was.

‘T-that is…!’

It was the poisoned dagger that killed a mid-class Sword Master like Pip. Kale snatched his hands to his chest instinctively.

‘D-damn it…!’

Even if a high priest were around to help, it was impossible to survive that dagger. Kale had witnessed Pip’s end with his own eyes, and the dagger’s threat was terrifying beyond words. It was like watching a cruel beast at work. He was being warned that if he didn’t kill his disciples, the beast would kill him instead.

‘Gulp.’

He did not want to die, especially with that painful poison. Kale picked up the dagger with trembling hands.

“

U-ugh!

”

Kale automatically dropped the dagger as soon as he held its cold hilt.

“

A-ah!

”

Kale moved far away from the dagger with exaggerated movements, fearing that the tip of the blade would touch him.

Henry asked, “You can’t do it?”

“N-no! I will do it…!”

“Show me.” Henry continued to make his demands in a composed manner. He didn’t care whether or not Kale was frightened. Kale had no choice but to pick up the dagger again. It was so cold that it made his hands tremble even more. Kale was sweating.

“I must live… I must live…”

Kale muttered to himself repeatedly as if to ease his guilt. He wasn’t acting like his usual self. Kale dragged his heavy feet towards his disciples, who were stacked like bowls. He sat on his haunches. His disciples’ eyes were closed, and they had no idea what was in store for them.

Kale closed his eyes. If he didn’t, his memories with them would resurface and make this even more difficult than it already was.

“Open your eyes.” Cruelly, Henry wouldn’t let him close his eyes.

“

Ha…

” Kale had no choice but to keep his eyes open. His teeth chattered as if he had caught a chill.

Tremble…

He was already close to making a decision. No matter how precious his disciples were, in the end, they were complete strangers who didn’t even share his blood. Kale raised his arms as though they were being pulled up like a bowstring.

‘I’m sorry…!’

The arrow released.

Clank!

Right before the deadly poison came in contact with the disciples, Henry’s sword blocked Kale’s dagger.

Clank!

Kale let go of the dagger and looked up at Henry in confusion. “W-what…?”

Henry smiled. “Even though you pretend to be weak, at least you have a strong will. This makes you quite useful.”

“Huh…?”

Von looked at Kale’s confusion and Henry’s satisfaction and shook his head. He placed his hand on his forehead.

“There’s no need to be surprised. I ordered you to kill the disciples to spare your life,” continued Henry.

“R-really?”

“Yes, but your life only. Your disciples didn’t do anything, so you don’t mind if I kill them, right?”

“T-that’s…!”

Although he looked panic-stricken, Kale felt relieved that his life was spared. However, he began to think about what would happen to him in the future.

‘I can’t be excited just because I’ve survived. Now that Salmora’s dead, Marquis Aubert will be attacked next. Then, they’ll uncover this incident, including the deaths of my disciples. If that happens, I’ll…!’

The life of a wizard was basically the empire’s property. Deaths were an even bigger problem if the wizard was a first-class wizard. Kale had secretly helped Salmora without reporting to the Magical Spire, so he would obviously be used as the fall guy.

‘If I leave this as is, not only will I be put on trial at the Magical Spire, it’s certain that I’ll be condemned as a traitor. So for the sake of my safety, I have to save my disciples…!’

He made these calculations the very second his life was spared and his head began to cool off. Kale bowed once again and started acting with all his might. “P-please spare their lives as well! Although I have tried to save my own life by sacrificing theirs, they’re my only disciples, so please show mercy…!”

Henry couldn’t stop his smile, so he hid it behind his hand.

‘As I expected, he’s smart. Good thing I kept him alive.’

Before Henry had become the great wizard, he had been called the Sage of the Continent. No one knew human nature better than he did, and it was clear to him what was going on in Kale's head. That was why he was even more satisfied—he wanted an extremely selfish person without morals. Henry asked, “You want to save your disciples?”

“Yes. Please spare my disciples!”

“Alright. I will let your disciples live.”

“R-really, is that true?”

“Of course, it comes with a price. The price is equivalent to your desire to save them.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes! If you ask me to give up all my property, I will give it all up, and if you ask me to beg like a dog, I will do that as well!”

“Hm, are you that willing?”

“Yes!”

“Alright then, I’ll trust that will of yours once more.” Henry took out an object the size of a pinky and handed it to Kale. “Take it. You’re a wizard so you must have heard of a Narworm, also called a drug leech, before.”

Narworms were unlike ordinary leeches because they caused intense pleasure and hallucination as they ingested the mana of its host. However, Narworms were picky and could only consume two kinds of mana in their lifetime. In addition, since they consumed mana like a drug, if they didn’t receive the same mana regularly, they became tremendously stressed and self-destructed quickly.

‘If you remove it from its host, it will self-destruct, and if it consumes more than two types of mana, it will also self-destruct… It’s a tricky creature to handle.’

Narworms were crazy about mana and they favored wizards who had a lot of it, which was why they preferred to nest in the heart, which contained the most abundant mana. If a Narworm ever exploded, its nest would also explode. Kale’s face began to stiffen as he accepted the Narworm.

Although he’d grown pale, he didn’t dare refuse.

‘Damn it…’

In what world would a wizard ever plant a Narworm in their body? However, it was already too late. Kale placed the Narworm on his forearm, his expression full of resignation. Goosebumps formed all over his body when he felt the leech’s unique stickiness.

Squirm…

The Narworm started to dig into Kale’s forearm.

“

Argh!

”

He felt a sharp pain as it pierced his skin. The Narworm dug inside Kale’s body in order to adapt to its new nest and the immense pain almost caused him to pass out.

“

Cough!

”

Finally, it stuck to his heart. Kale vomited a handful of blood, but that was only a temporary reaction.

Henry said, “You know how Narworms work, right?”

“...Yes.”

“I’ve already given it enough of my mana, so he can’t consume any other type of mana now. You know what that means, don’t you? As expected, you understand pretty fast because you’re a mage.”

One had to use magic to create an incision in the heart in order to remove a Narworm. However, if a third person’s mana got involved, the Narworm would self-destruct. This meant that Henry was the only one who could safely remove Kale’s Narworm.

“We’ll supply it with mana once a week at the town hall of Vivaldi.”

“Alright…”

There was no way Kale felt good about a living bomb planted inside his body. However, Kale would desperately try his best to live.

“Now we can talk easily. Nice to meet you, my name is Henry Morris and I’m currently working with Count Eisen.”

“...What?”

“Don’t be surprised, I’m not the person that you’re thinking of. We just have the same name.”

The name had grabbed Kale’s attention, but he only felt discomfort when he realized that Henry only shared a name with the other person.

“Shall we start talking about work?”

Most of the preparations were done and Henry was ready to discuss in depth.

* * *

“Do you think it’ll be okay?”

“What will?”

“Kale. I’m worried that he might leak information.”

“It’ll be alright. He tried to survive by sacrificing his disciples, plus, I’ve planted a Narworm inside him, so he won’t be able to say anything unless he considers his head only as an ornament.”

Everyone was equal in the face of death, although a few could easily accept it. Most couldn't since it was a terrifying prospect to them.

‘The more you have, the more afraid you are of dying, which is why some people dream of immortality.’

Wizards were considered geniuses and worked hard their entire lives. Kale had gone through a lot in order to achieve the status of a mage, so he thought it was unfair that he’d have to sacrifice his life for his friend.

The two soon arrived at the entrance of Eisen’s mansion. The soldier who had spoken informally to Henry and even the head of the guards, Vedican, were waiting to welcome Henry.

Vedican and Henry made eye contact and Vedican bowed first. The others followed suit. “Let’s go inside.”

Henry stepped inside the mansion like a victorious general.