Chapter 143

“Wait... ”

From the beginning, Theodore had always been a lunatic who enjoyed throwing others off balance. In fact, one of Theodore’s reasons for becoming an undead after dying was to surprise its family. However, now Theodore was experiencing a rare reversal, brought about by a sixteen-year-old kid.

“How are you fine?”

Theodore clenched and unclenched its hand, recalling the sensation of the slash it had just unleashed. Theodore couldn’t help but tilt its head in confusion. “Shouldn’t you be dead?”

Jae-Hyeok gulped.

Did he really mean to kill me?

Jae-Hyeok didn’t know why Theodore had come, but he’d been saved because of it; moreover, Theodore had also helped him in the Troll Lord’s nest previously, so he’d assumed Theodore was an ally. Yet from Theodore’s words, it was clear Jae-Hyeok had misunderstood; Theodore had fully intended to kill him with that strike.

‘He is a lunatic. It is impossible to predict what he will do.’

Jae-Hyeok recalled the words of the lion statue and calmed his mind.

That’s fine. He doesn’t need to be on my side.

Perhaps it was pride, but Theodore kept its promises at least.

Jae-Hyeok asked again, “Do you know what’s going on in the school right now?”

“Hmph. What

don’t

I know?” Theodore snapped. “I am a genius among geniuses who entered the school at the top of the year and graduated at the top as well. Even in death, I came back here to exert my dominance. I might not be able to grasp every corner of Pearl Island, but I understand most of the events inside Lion’s Castle.”

Jae-hyeok blinked. “Exert dominance?”

“...As soon as I fully regain my strength, that will be the case.”

Jae-Hyeok thought,

Is that a bluff? He isn’t very good at lying.

The more Jae-Hyeok interacted with Theodore, the more he realized how prideful it was. He started to understand a little bit about how to handle Theodore.

Nodding, Jae-Hyeok said, “Indeed. If you, who was the Yaksha’s rival, regain your strength, then it will be difficult for even the chairman to deal with you.”

“I am the Yaksha’s rival?”

“Oh, it wasn’t to that extent?”

“No! You guessed right! Kuhahaha! As for Seol Su-Ah, that kid can never be my opponent! She’s practically the Yaksha’s minion, whereas the only thing he asked me to do after winning our fight was... ” Theodore suddenly shut its jaw. The purple orbs of light in its eye sockets narrowed into lines. “Hmph! Weakling, I don’t intend to waste time chatting with you as you are now. I will spare you as promised, so get lost.”

‘As I am now’? Does that mean Theodore will be willing to chat with me later on?

Just as Jae-Hyeok had that thought—

[A hidden quest of Lion’s Castle has been triggered!]

[The Time Until You Earn Theodore’s Recognition]

[Difficulty Level: SS

Death Knight Theodore has a conversation he wants to have with you, the Yaksha’s son. However, he finds you too weak and is reluctant to trust you.

Work hard to earn Theodore’s recognition.

Quest Conditions:

Endure a one-strike battle: 2/3.

Endure a two-strike battle: 0/2.

Endure a three-strike battle: 0/1.]

“......”

It was easy to understand.

Theodore was regaining his strength much faster than Jae-Hyeok was growing.

Without the Heavy Moon shield blocking one attack, Jae-Hyeok wouldn’t have easily withstood Theodore’s deadly attack. Now he had to overcome another one-strike battle, two two-strike battles, and one three-strike battle?

Even if it's a quest...

Wasn’t this suicide?

Jae-Hyeok was feeling nervous when he saw Theodore wave his hand.

“What are you still doing here? I’m done with you today.”

Fortunately, Theodore wasn’t one to change its mind, and the quest Jae-Hyeok triggered seemed to come with a considerable grace period.

“

Also, you don’t have to worry about what’s going on in the school.

The lady I just killed and the people she was working with are just creating a commotion to kidnap a kid.

It is a trivial matter.”

Moreover, Theodore seemed to be in a better mood than it let on, even answering Jae-Hyeok’s previous question. Clearly, treating Theodore as his father’s rival had paid off.

“Oh...?”

Jae-Hyeok went over and examined the headless body of the woman. But even after rummaging through her pockets, he found nothing special.

Jae-Hyeok questioned, “But why kidnap a student? She is a member of the Blood Church.”

The Blood Church was a religion with many rumors circulating about. It was said that they were a group of fanatics who worshiped vampires as gods, but persecuted by the world, the Blood Church had retreated into remote lands a hundred years ago. In the present day, any information related to the Blood Church was a high-level secret. Besides the rumors, Jae-Hyeok didn’t know anything about them.

Theodore shrugged.

“It’s true that she is from the Blood Church, but she has always been a Necromancer’s servant.

“Necromancer?” Jae-Hyeok’s eyes widened. “You mean the Baus family?”

“

Yes... Ugh, just thinking about them makes me annoyed. As an undead myself, fighting them is the worst.

At least there is a sense of fighting spirit against me and the Yaksha, but a necromancer... groan... ”

Theodore made a strange sound and turned around.

“

Since you aren’t leaving, I’ll leave first.

I look forward to seeing you again.

However, if you use another dirty trick like you did today, I won’t let you go.”

Theodore’s gaze shifted to Heavy Moon; it had realized what had happened earlier.

“I’m well aware that being overgeared is an ability, but I still dislike it.”

Leaving behind that strange remark, Theodore leaped into the sky and landed on the half-collapsed rooftop of the shooting range. With another leap, Theodore completely disappeared from sight.

A chill went down Jae-Hyeok’s spine as he looked between the corpse of the brutally killed woman and the traces left behind by Theodore.

Is its grudge against the Baus family that deep?

Wait...

The Baus family was trying to kidnap a student?

Baek Do-Jin?

Jae-Hyeok’s heart sank. For once, he lost his composure. His thoughts spun as he tried to think of where Do-Jin might be.

At that moment, there was a smashing sound followed by a loud roar.

“You damn blood demon!”

It was the captain of the Guards, Byeon Cheon-Ju.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

He had just broken free of that woman’s blood sphere and was prepared to go on a rampage.

“Uh?”

Byeon Cheon-Ju lowered his fists and looked around, slack-jawed. His subordinates and the woman had all become corpses...

What happened?

He examined his subordinates. In addition to visible injuries, his subordinates’ bodies were as dry as mummies, clearly having been bled to death by Roxanne.

They’re dead, yet their weapons are clean. They weren’t even able to fight back... Sigh.

It was disheartening, but Byeon Cheon-Ju was not surprised. S-class players were superhumans, and the woman was even stronger than Byeon Cheon-Ju.

The question, then, was who killed the woman?

Byeon Cheon-Ju approached her corpse and was shocked.

Perfect decapitation?

Where the head should’ve been, the woman’s neck ended in a mirror-smooth cross-section. It looked as if this blood demon, known for her tenacious vitality, had been killed in one blow.

This is something not even I could do.

Who was it?

Byeon Cheon-Ju’s trembling finally fell on the only other survivor.

Jae-Hyeok stared back. “Where were you headed?”

“...T-the botanical garden. To be precise, we planned to check all the areas where the barriers were activated, assess the situation, and clean up.”

“Would it be possible for me to borrow a bike?”

“What, why? Oh... ” The shooting range building was in ruins. The arcane bikes used by the Shooting Club were probably buried in the rubble. “Very well.”

Jae-Hyeok got on a silver bike and immediately left the scene.

When the sound of the arcane bike grew distant, Byeon Cheon-Ju let out a breath.

Did he really kill that blood demon?

No way... right?

Despite denying it, Byeon Cheon-Ju decided to investigate thoroughly.

Of course, first he had to investigate the locations where the barriers were reported.

***

In a pitch-dark forest, a group was walking down a path covered in fallen leaves, despite it still being summer.

They were Loren, Wolfgang, and Do-Jin.

Do-Jin glanced left and right. Wasn’t their journey too smooth? “Strange... ”

Seeing Do-Jin’s expression, Loren said, “Why do you think Lion’s Castle accepted me as an exchange student?”

“You offered a lot of money.”

“Haha, that is the right answer. Still, Do-Jin, a National Treasure like her has many eyes and ears. Wouldn’t she know about my relationship with you?” Loren’s eyes flashed gold, the sole light in the forest. “That sultry woman must’ve known I was going to do this.”

“What?” Do-Jin frowned. What was this crazy psychopath going on about?

“I think you mean ‘sly’, Young Master.”

“Is that not what I said?” Loren scoffed. Wolfgang was insufferable when he nagged.

“Young Master, you said ‘sultry.’”

“Sultry, sly—they sound the same. Go walk ahead.”

“Yes.”

After urging Wolfgang to pick up the pace, Loren turned back to Do-Jin.

“The point is. No one is coming for us. She will likely vent her anger on the vassals I left to hold back the guards in each sector, and then retreat.” A bitter smile spread across Loren’s face. “After all, she needs to lose a student for things to escalate into a serious diplomatic incident.”

“What... What bullshit is this?”

“I’m just speculating at this point. Ah, Do-Jin, is your brain too weak for you to understand?”

“Hey, you son of a—”

Just as Do-Jin was about to curse, someone else spoke.

“What an interesting conversation.”

That pleasant voice was followed by the sound of crunching leaves as a silver-haired youth stepped out from the trees. His silver hair sparkled in the darkness just like Loren’s eyes, catching the attention of anyone who saw him.

“Shinra Kyeong.”

Loren’s expression stiffened. He, who was always aloof and fearless, felt nervous for the first time. However, Shinra Kyeong made an unexpected proposal.

“I want to help.” Shinra Kyeong didn’t reach out to Do-Jin, but to him. “For the future of my country.”