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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 134
“W-Who… just who are you…?”
“A guest.”
That wasn’t the answer they were hoping for.
The chilling silence lingered until Leon appeared, carrying the unconscious Princess Eilena on his back.
* * *
KWAHHHHH!!!
Nothing could be seen properly.
Ever since the incident, the recording artifact had been riddled with noise.
“Hah…”
“What… what did I just witness? What kind of creature was that?”
“I have studied monsters for many years, but I have never seen such a being before…”
Professor Rommel muttered, swallowing hard.
The exam was canceled.
The sudden catastrophe in the Black Forest, though it miraculously resulted in no casualties, was enough to change the academy’s examination system.
The cadets were placed under intensive care, and Princess Eilena, who was the last to recover, underwent thorough examinations by royal physicians and priests.
After the incident, several senior professors of the academy, along with the Royal Chamberlain and the Headmaster, meticulously reviewed the recording artifacts used for the cadets and those attached to Princess Eilena.
And then, they realized something.
The exam had proceeded without any issues—until midway.
“Is there a possibility of tampering?”
At the Royal Chamberlain’s question, the professors shook their heads.
“That seems unlikely.”
The disaster had struck suddenly, without any warning.
“Haa… Before the exam started, Lord Leon had said something. That the demonic realm was too dangerous. That holding an exam there was too careless.”
“……”
Normally, they would have dismissed such concerns as naïve.
But now, no one could argue against him.
Because everything had unfolded just as Leon had warned.
“Could it be that he orchestrated this incident on purpose…?”
“The Cascadia family has managed a special high-risk demonic realm for generations. Even Cadet Melissa once voiced similar concerns. Of course, nothing happened back then…”
A heavy silence pressed down on them.
“But more than that… who exactly is he? Regardless of his family background… just what is he…?”
Even with the interference in the recording, the professors had seen it.
They had witnessed Leon drawing his Aura Blade, moving at such speed that even the artifacts couldn’t properly capture his actions as he rescued the cadets.
“That’s an Aura Blade. Yes, the symbol of a Sword Master.”
The professors fell into a hushed silence.
“At his age, just reaching Expert level would be enough to be hailed as a prodigy. Throughout the continent’s history, there have been very few such cases.”
“Indeed.”
“But a Master? That’s beyond absurd.”
Hah…
Even after seeing it, they struggled to believe it.
“But that’s not the real problem. Look at this.”
The professor specializing in Necromancy manipulated the artifact.
The footage showed Leon wielding his Aura Blade—while simultaneously casting necromantic magic.
“That is unmistakably necromancy. And it’s not just any necromancy. That’s Fifth Circle necromancy.”
“……Professor, can you do that?”
“Yes, I can. However…”
The professor trailed off before activating Princess Eilena’s artifact.
It displayed her erecting a purple barrier and deploying dozens of magic circles.
“To be perfectly honest…”
“Speak freely.”
“That level of technique is impossible for anyone below an Archmage.”
A Sword Master and a necromancer beyond the Sixth Circle?
It was beyond ridiculous.
A human body was not made of rubber, capable of stretching infinitely.
How could such a thing even be possible?
Even achieving just one of those feats would be enough to etch one’s name into history as a legend.
But both?
“And this is the most perplexing part. This…”
“Isn’t that necromancy?”
At the final moment of the footage, when Leon pulled out a black scythe, the professor of necromancy shook his head.
“To be completely honest… I have no idea what that is.”
“What? What do you mean…?”
“I have studied necromancy extensively, but I have never seen a spell like that. Its structure, its method… it only resembles necromancy on the surface. In reality, it’s something entirely different. Something that cannot even be classified as ‘magic’ as we understand it.”
“So let me ask you this, Professor Rommel.”
“Yes?”
“That boy… is he really human?”
No one could answer.
Because they had all seen it.
They had all witnessed that colossal, deathly specter wielding a scythe… and what happened afterward.
A section of the demonic realm—something that was supposed to be uncleansable—had completely died.
Mana.
Air.
Earth.
Life itself.
Everything within that range had ceased to exist.
“That purple barrier… it was set up specifically to protect against the aftermath. He planned it from the very beginning.”
“Haa… It would be best to ask him directly, but…”
That wasn’t an option.
Currently, both Leon and Princess Eilena were by the side of the injured Isna.
“Though I must say, this is rather curious. When I once consulted Cadet Melissa, she mentioned something about her older brother. That she had to bear the family’s responsibilities in his stead.”
Who in their right mind would call this monster a talentless fool?
Had the professors been more familiar with external rumors, they might have heard about the Kraken incident.
But unfortunately, they hadn’t.
Neither had the Royal Chamberlain.
After all, the royal family wasn’t in the habit of gathering frivolous rumors.
“For now, I suggest we keep this matter confidential.”
“To prevent mass panic, that would be for the best. Ensure the cadets keep silent about this. And from now on, all exams in the Black Forest are to be permanently discontinued. That area is far too dangerous to be used as a mere testing ground.”
“We will comply.”
The Royal Chamberlain muttered grimly.
If word of this got out, countless nations would protest.
That was a disaster they had to avoid.
In other words, Leon had single-handedly prevented a massive international crisis.
“However, there is still one thing that bothers me…”
“A thing that caught your attention…?”
“The suspicion that someone might have orchestrated this situation. And Professor Viviane is nowhere to be seen.”
One of the senior professors carefully spoke up.
“Is that true?”
“Well… I’m not certain, but…”
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HELHEIM SCANS
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* * *
The imperial princess was immediately taken to the Academy’s central hospital, while the professors decided to observe the situation in the Black Forest before entering to clean up.
After saying that they were too exhausted from the rescue, they discreetly withdrew, and Professor Rommel relayed the message that I should go in and rest for now.
Since I was the one who observed the situation, I would have to report and testify.
But thanks to the recording artifact, they seemed to want to grasp the details among themselves first.
At least they promised to contact me later, which meant one less hassle.
“What happened?”
As I silently wandered around the Academy grounds, Luna caught up with me.
Since neither of us bore any visible wounds, there wasn’t much attention drawn to us.
It seemed Luna’s mask was more effective than I expected.
“Nothing much. Just something bothering me.”
Rescuing Princess Eilena and dealing with the Red Moon went off without a hitch.
But while carrying the exhausted princess on my back and making my way out of the desiccated Black Forest, I came across something peculiar—a corpse.
The body was drained of all lingering life force, something that should have remained even in death.
A result of the power of death itself.
Could it have been someone caught in Thanatos' influence, unable to escape?
The entire body had turned pitch black, with most of the flesh twisted and withered.
Yet, I could tell it was a woman of considerable age.
And then—
“That body wasn’t killed by Thanatos.”
“Hm?”
“Nor was it killed by an undead.”
Upon closer inspection, faint traces of wounds remained.
The one who killed that person—was human.
“Someone committed murder there. Right when the Black Forest was in chaos.”
Hearing my explanation, Luna lowered her gaze slightly.
“Professor Viviane.”
“Hm?”
“They mentioned that one of the Academy’s professors is missing.”
I was surprised she picked up on that.
“If it wasn’t Thanatos’ doing, is it really something worth paying attention to?”
“This whole incident feels oddly manipulated by someone.”
As I answered, a system message appeared before my eyes.
[The Red Moon phenomenon is beyond human capability.]
‘There’s no definitive proof. But even without the Red Moon, the Black Forest was already in a dire state.’
There was another mystery.
Back when I was treating Isna’s wounds.
If I had to say whether she was strong or not, the answer would be ambiguous.
She was a genius from the renowned Mielephon swordsmanship family, but only slightly above Melissa in skill.
From my and Luna’s perspective, she wasn’t particularly powerful.
Yet, she had sustained wounds she shouldn’t have taken.
She didn’t say much about it, but if she wasn’t the one who killed that corpse, then there was only one answer.
The one who murdered that corpse also attacked Isna.
Since she chose to rest instead of talking about it, I felt even more uneasy.
In other words, someone had orchestrated this entire situation.
“Could the corpse itself have been the cause of all this?”
“That’s possible. Which is why I need to check for myself. I found some remaining traces.”
With that, I stepped into a dark alleyway.
Though it was still within the Academy’s domain, the place was vast enough that such poorly maintained areas existed.
Of course, it wasn’t the kind of alley where vagrants gathered.
A chilling breeze brushed against my skin, sending a sharp sensation through me.
Just as I silently moved deeper into the alley—
Luna removed her mask and frowned.
“The smell of blood.”
“Yeah.”
At the same time, I too caught the thick stench of death.
Without hesitation, we stepped further into the dim passage.
And there, we saw it.
A man, seemingly an Academy staff member, collapsed on the ground, vomiting blood.
And before him stood a small figure cloaked in black, holding a blood-stained sword.
It was them.
That strange, unsettling presence I felt from the corpse—
I could sense the exact same thing emanating from this figure.
No, to be precise, the aura was leaking from within them.
I subtly shifted Luna behind me and slowly unsheathed my sword.
“I have no reason to fight you right now.”
That was when it happened.
A distorted voice echoed in my ears.
“That’s for me to decide.”
At my words, the figure turned to face me.
Beneath the deeply drawn hood was a mask.
Their presence was almost undetectable, and even their inner state was difficult to read.
Even their voice was unrecognizable.
A magic user, perhaps.
Whoever they were, they knew something about this whole incident.
That much was certain.
And given their small stature, they were more likely a woman than a man.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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