Chapter 4 - The Strongest Firefly
It was just as Ruin was checking Ruins Wayne’s condition.
The thief, leg broken and writhing on the floor, clenched his teeth and suddenly said something unexpected.
“Guh… What kind of lunatic… Don’t tell me you’re working with them too?!”
Working with them?
“Damn it, I was gonna grab this guy and extort money from the Wayne family…”
Wayne? Wait—could he mean that Wayne? One of the Union’s eight grand noble houses?
But the thief grit his teeth as if he’d just convinced himself of something.
“Right… there’s no way they left the job of killing Haven’s new professor to just us.”
Ruin furrowed his brow.
They were targeting a newly hired Haven professor? Was this Pride’s doing? A demon faction?
‘No way… No way, right?’
“The Demon Emperor’s Firefly is dead now! It’s the perfect time to prove myself!”
…Great. So he is one of us. No, scratch that. That phrase alone pisses me off.
And who the hell said I was dead?
“You dare come after my skin?”
The thief blinked in confusion.
Skin?
Then Ruin’s eyes changed.
In an instant, the gentle face of the deliveryman was gone. In those once-blue eyes, the flames of annihilation burned bright.
Finally, the blue pupils turned gold—gleaming like twilight set ablaze.
【Curse: Misfortune Infusion】
This was the result of training to control the [Wanderlust] curse, which had once activated recklessly.
“Misfortune” could be triggered in stages, from Level 1 to 5. Using the ability came at the cost of bringing misfortune upon himself as well, but lower levels were manageable.
As proof—The thief’s mana orb, still forming, exploded right in his hand, as if he’d self-destructed.
“GAAAH!”
The thief was stunned.
“Damn it, why did it fail?!”
He gritted his teeth and poured more power into his spell. Stronger magic circles appeared, pulsating violently.
KRRRACK!
“I’ll tear your limbs apart!”
Red lightning ripped through the ground, shattering the ceiling.
Amid the violent storm, Ruin clicked his tongue. That level of bloodlust—he clearly intended to kill.
‘So he’s a mage. That cockiness makes sense now.’
Sure, by normal standards, he was probably a decent mid-tier mage. But to Ruin, he was just a toy.
Ruin flicked his fingers—
BOOM!
Flames burst across the ceiling like a scarlet tidal wave.
The detonated magic orb shattered every window. Fire roared through the open gaps like a dragon exhaling its wrath.
CRASH! CRASH!
Shards of glass rained down to the first floor, and the now-charred thief tumbled out through the broken window.
BAM! BAM!
Falling from the second floor, the thief’s spine twisted into a spike.
“Guuhhk…!”
Coughing blood, the thief groaned.
He couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. All he knew for sure was that the man standing at the window… looked more like a monster than a human.
“…You lunatic. What the hell did you do to me?!”
The man, standing calmly with a hand in his pocket, hadn’t moved an inch.
Every step, every gesture was calculated—far too refined.
Why would someone like that be hiding their strength?
But what terrified the thief more than anything was this:
“How… How did my spell, which never fails, just now—?!”
Ruin narrowed his eyes.
Why?
Why, you ask?
“Your ‘luck’ just wasn’t strong enough to beat my ‘misfortune.’”
What? Misfortune?
What the hell is this bastard talking abou—
And then, when he looked directly at Ruin, the thief nearly fainted.
What the hell is that?
The black aura surrounding Ruin was beyond terrifying.
It was as if he carried all the world’s misfortune on his back.
It looked like the goddess of misfortune herself was holding him in a loving embrace.
And there he stood—utterly calm, like it was nothing.
It was terrifying.
And then the thief finally realized something.
This man—unscathed even in that magical explosion.
Physical prowess off the charts.
A disaster-level force, capable of swallowing even a Hero.
Able to deceive the divine blessing of the Union itself.
Only one person came to mind.
“S-Stop. No way. Don’t tell me—you’re…!”
Ruin flicked his finger again.
CLANG!
A broken signboard fell from above, crushing the thief’s skull.
Blood trickled out beneath it.
Ruin’s “misfortune” had triggered the orb explosion, leading to a chain reaction that resulted in the thief’s accidental death.
‘That guy’s luck stat was maybe a 1, tops.’
Firefly’s misfortune ability works like this:
Your luck - my misfortune = what happens.
Put simply, the higher the target’s luck, the more misfortune he had to inject to override it.
But that thief? A low-level misfire was more than enough.
In general, demons found it hard to deal with Union heroes. Because divine blessings boosted their “luck” so high that even attacks barely landed.
In fact, the Union fought using this “luck stat.” High luck increased the success rate of magic, dodging attacks, and getting critical opportunities.
Even their security systems were governed by luck.
So in a way, Union was nearly impervious to infiltration.
Ruin’s boss once put it like this:
> “The Union’s luck stat is a thorn in our side—even our curse stat can’t pierce it. If anything can counteract divine luck… it’s misfortune.”
Well, he happened to carry that misfortune.
Anyway, Ruin turned around quickly. The remaining problem was tending to Ruins Wayne’s injuries. He should still be alive.
A professor at Haven wouldn’t go down that easy.
There was a reason that thief stabbed him first.
Haven professors were active heroes—the people entrusted with training future Heroes.
Anyone who couldn’t meet that standard wouldn’t have been hired.
Which meant their luck stats had to be top-tier too.
In short, Ruins Wayne is a crucial figure. He has to survive the headmaster interview.
Ruin approached kindly.
“Mr. Wayne, are you alright? I’ll heal you immediately—”
“……”
“Mr. Wayne?”
“……”
Ruin’s jaw dropped at the sight before him.
“…Wait. Hold on.”
“……”
Wayne was dead.
……Goddamn it!
- - -
Firefly froze. A rare thing.
A mistake. He hadn’t expected that weak of a blast to kill him.
Wait—was it my fault?
Did Wayne die because of my misfortune?
Did using my powers again cause it to spill over to someone else nearby?
No. No way.
This guy’s hero-tier! He’s a Haven professor!
So was it blood loss? Too much bleeding?
Ruin rubbed his forehead, annoyed.
‘Sure, it was near a vital area, but still…’
He should’ve been able to heal himself.
A professor at Haven dying from something like that? And his subject was healing, no less!
‘Then why the hell did he die?!’
What, a priest who can’t heal himself?
So this means…
—He died from misfortune.
Fantastic.
Ruin clutched his head.
Did my ability get stronger after wandering through dimensions? Strong enough to kill even someone like him with misfortune alone?
But that wasn’t the real issue.
This guy—he can’t die yet!
He needed Ruins Wayne to infiltrate Haven.
When Ruin first saw Wayne’s profile, he knew this was the perfect target.
Because of that bandaged face.
After delivering packages through Haven, he’d realized:
There’s a “dispel transformation” spell cast throughout the inner academy.
Meaning: any transformation gets forcibly undone inside.
Probably to weed out spies.
No matter how good Ruin was, even he couldn’t maintain transformation magic in that kind of field.
The area he entered earlier, the shipping bay, was technically considered outside—so it was safe.
But classrooms, research wings—no way. Good thing he hadn’t tried disguising as a TA earlier.
That’s why he needed someone who wouldn’t seem suspicious with their face always hidden.
And this guy was perfect.
On top of that, someone from the Wayne family wouldn’t be questioned lightly.
And now… He dies before he even gets an office, or a meeting with the headmaster?
‘What now?’
—What else? Give it up and come back. We’ve got work for you.
Are you joking?
—You gonna face the headmaster then?
Damn it! If I could just get to my vault, this would all be over!
Besides, the headmaster of Haven is practically one of the Union’s top brass!
‘What, do I want to get exposed and torn apart on the spot?’
Visibly distressed, Ruin glanced at the scattered letters on Wayne’s desk.
—Stop disgracing the family and come home, you disgrace of an eldest son!
—You can’t even heal yourself. And you're a professor of Healing? Is this a joke?
—Can’t even resist a demon curse, and you’re teaching Defense? Even a dog would laugh.
Cruel letters, filled with contempt. Wayne clearly was the family’s embarrassment.
‘Well, with a face like this… I guess it makes sense.’
Ruin’s fingers untied the bandages wrapped around Wayne’s head.
Beneath them was a face too hideous to describe. It wasn’t just ugly—it was inhuman.
So this was why the man wore bandages at all times.
‘Yeah. A face like this… It’s no wonder people said even the gods abandoned him.’
Ruins Wayne.
Ruin had suspected as much from the name. But he hadn’t imagined someone from the Wayne family would be working as a penniless adjunct.
‘Someone from the Wayne family, working as a wandering lecturer?’
He should’ve had a high-ranking job by default.
Still, Ruin felt a strange sense of kinship. Their names were similar. And the way Wayne died—so miserably—it was like looking into a mirror.
Moved by a rare emotion, Ruin placed his hand over Wayne’s body.
Then—something strange occurred.
【Devour】 (Race-specific skill)
Screeeech!
A black shadow burst from Ruin’s body, slithering across the room and engulfing Wayne’s corpse whole.
Unlike “transformation,” which only changed one’s appearance, “Devour” absorbed a target and extracted their abilities.
It also happened to be the only method Ruin had for storing a body.
That was the power of his race—Shadow.
He could copy, mimic, and use anything a shadow could.
Finishing the cleanup, Ruin stood up.
‘I think I had a resurrection potion in the vault too…’
If he could recover his retirement fund, maybe he’d bring Wayne back.
The only issue—
‘I’m now a professor for the enemy nation, teaching future Heroes.’
At that moment, the kind face of the deliveryman disappeared. His skin fell away like peeling fabric, vanishing in motes of light.
Sshhhh—
Golden shimmer scattered in the air, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.
Finally, the true form was revealed:
A young man with black hair and golden eyes. Handsome like a sculpture, his sharp gaze both refined and cold.
This was the true face of Firefly—one no one but the Demon Emperor and the intelligence agency had ever seen.
‘Well… guess I have no choice.’
No more spy work. He was done with that.
“……….”
…But seriously—what do I do about the headmaster interview?
