Chapter 6 - The Daring Butterfly (2)
The statue raised its voice.
[What are you accusing me of tampering with?!]
“That ability you used. It’s not luck-based. It’s curse-based, isn’t it?”
At that, murmurs began rippling through the crowd.
“Wait, is that true?”
“Was the statue cheating us this whole time?!”
“?!”
In this world, the power used by the Union was called Luck, while the power used by the Demonic Pride faction was Curse. Both stemmed from mana, but Union infused it with blessings that empowered the self, whereas Pride used it to debilitate enemies through malice.
In simple terms, the higher your Luck, the more likely you survive anything; the stronger your Curse, the more likely you can kill anyone.
It was a kind of power game. Luck vs. Curse.
And this Gatekeeper had disguised a curse-based game as a contest of luck.
Now it made sense why everyone lost… except for the Hero.
The Hero’s Luck was at the pinnacle of humanity. Even without trying, most curses would just bounce off him.
As for this Gatekeeper, of course the Union folks assumed he was using insanely high Luck, just because he kept winning.
“You’re not lucky, you've just been cursing people into bankruptcy.”
[Kh…!]
“Wait—‘Curse of Bankruptcy’?”
“Based on curse power, too…”
“!”
The heroes flinched and stared at both Ruin and the statue.
Even for heroes, it was near-impossible to block a curse without defensive magic. That alone was alarming enough—but how had Ruin figured it out?
Ruin clicked his tongue.
It wasn’t hard at all to figure out what the Gatekeeper really was.
—House User Manual
When he purchased the house, he'd received a thick document titled "Hidden Mechanism User Manual". Everything was written in there.
Thanks to a professional habit of reading all fine print meticulously, he remembered most of it.
—Hidden Spell No.199: Gatekeeper Summon
1. Summons a demon that casts the Curse of Bankruptcy (Curse)
2. Steals the target’s possessions and induces phantom pain, as if their organs were removed.
…But there was no reason to say all that aloud.
“You can just feel it, can’t you? That reek of curse magic coming off him.”
The other interviewees gawked.
…You can feel that?
“I didn’t sense anything...!”
But Ruin smoothly continued, keeping himself from looking too suspicious.
“A gate that only the Hero could pass? What kind of interview is that? That’s basically asking for top-tier Luck. In other words, they never intended to hire anyone. Unless…”
A glint sparked in his golden eyes.
“This is Haven. The place for hunting demons. What they really wanted to see was how well you respond to disguised demonic power. The dice game was clearly chosen on purpose.”
“W-Why dice?”
“Because there are only a handful of curses that affect gambling. That’s a clue.”
“Then…!”
“Exactly. If you figure out what type of curse is being used, you can cast the proper counter-spell. That’s probably why the Chairman put the Gatekeeper there. The ‘organ theft’ thing was likely a test of your courage.”
Everyone looked astonished.
“That was the real interview…?!”
“And he figured it out…!”
Ruin said nothing in response to their admiration.
…That was all bullshit.
‘Defensive spell, my ass. I just overpowered it with my own curse power.’
The Curse of Bankruptcy was a minor curse that made the target unlucky enough to lose everything while leaving the caster unharmed.
But minor misfortune?
To someone who was the embodiment of misfortune itself, that was like pouring a cup of water into a black ocean.
Pointless.
He was already a walking disaster zone—one that spread ruin just by existing.
Trying to curse him with a low-tier curse? Good luck.
‘Sure, the Gatekeeper was strong enough to guard the front gate, but he really picked the wrong target.’
Ruin glanced at the statue.
“So, you’re not just all talk, right?”
At Ruin’s threat, the Gatekeeper grit his teeth.
[Fine. I’ll open the gate.]
“Just the gate?”
[Ghh…!]
With a flash, a pile of sparkling items dropped at Ruin’s feet. They were the belongings the Gatekeeper had wagered—and lost.
“Ooh… those are high-grade artifacts, aren’t they?”
Ruin blinked. He hadn’t expected much from a goblin-faced demon like that.
‘These are better than expected.’
His eyes gleamed.
And then, with a deep rumble, the sealed main gate began to open.
Creeaaak…!
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
It was opening. The gate no one had ever opened.
The Gatekeeper, now thoroughly defeated, bowed respectfully and ushered him forward.
[You are a victor. From now on, you may enter through this gate anytime. Congratulations.]
Hearing that, Ruin tilted his head.
“…What are you talking about?”
The Gatekeeper blinked.
[What do you mean, ‘what’?]
Ruin gave him a smug, shameless smile.
“I believe we agreed on ten rounds. We’ve only done four so far, haven’t we?”
…What?
“Oh, and it looks like you don’t have six more items left on you, do you?”
[W-What?!]
“In that case, I’ll take body parts in exchange. Let’s start with your eyeballs.”
WHAT?!
* * *
“So… the new professor interviews are today?”
One of the Haven professors asked casually, prompting chuckles from the others.
‘Interviews,’ they scoffed.
“Guess the chairman’s making bank again this year.”
“Didn’t I pay the toll five years ago myself?”
“Everyone here did. Pretty sure all first-years work unpaid.”
They clicked their tongues, calling it vicious—but the bonuses made up for it. They laughed it off.
“Still, didn’t the chairman say that if someone actually makes it through the front gate, they get half of the toll money collected?”
“Come on, like that’s ever gonna happen.”
“Right? What a joke.”
But just then—The door burst open, and a professor came running in, out of breath.
“S-Someone’s made it through the main gate!”
A pen clattered to the floor.
“…What did you say?”
* * *
“This is the jackpot.”
Ruin was pleased as he looked through the items he’d stripped off the Gatekeeper.
He thought they’d just be random junk—turns out, they were all enchanted artifacts.
Monetary value, practical use—they were worth a fortune.
And that wasn’t all.
“Didn’t expect to get this here.”
Ruin turned to the Gatekeeper’s eye—now extracted.
A rare and valuable item.
‘Lapis lazuli.’
A deep-blue gem, capable of absorbing all forms of energy. An ancient mineral with immense power.
Sure, he’d known the property was once a temple—but using something this rare for a mere decoration?
That lock had been so expensive he didn’t even bother activating it before. Now he was glad the Hero had woken it up for him.
‘Though I’m not feeling particularly thankful right now.’
Because right now… He was hiding in a bathroom.
Originally, he’d intended to go straight to the interview.
But then something unexpected had shown up.
[Special Curse Control Notice!]
[All demonic objects and cursed items are subject to inspection!]
[Students and faculty, please cooperate with the inspection!]
In short: inspection patrols.
Union cops—no, magic sparrows, to be exact.
Basically the same as contraband sweeps, but for cursed items. Usually it was about stopping smuggled goods or monitoring students’ belongings.
‘Damn. That wasn’t in the pre-mission intel.’
They must’ve beefed up security in the meantime.
And of all times, the cursed fugitive Firefly had to waltz in during inspection season.
‘Damn Hero. Lucky bastard.’
He wanted to curse, but what could he do?
That Hero could swat a book and randomly kill a mosquito from a mile away. No wonder the Demon Emperor had such a headache over him.
Still, the real reason Ruin couldn't afford to get caught was something else entirely.
‘The hell is wrong with this school, releasing man-eating birds on patrol?!’
Sure, they looked like cute little sparrows, but those things had terrifyingly accurate noses for demonic scent. Not only could they identify demons, they’d eat them on the spot.
…There was a time one of those adorable-looking birds suddenly sprouted fangs and took a comrade’s temple clean off. Then cheerfully munched his skull like popcorn.
‘And that’s what’s waiting for me now, huh.’
Talk about a hazard.
Yes, Ruin had suppressed his curse signature, but those birds were dangerous.
‘I expected minimal security in the dorm zones since they housed students. But that Hero bastard…’
Even if demons were their “natural prey,” loosing man-eating sparrows around students?
It was insanity.
You’d be lying if you said it didn’t make you want to scream.
These weren’t weaklings either. They had a swarm mentality, and when they came, they came—hundreds at a time.
Even high-class demons avoided them.
And then—
[External visitor inspection in progress. Please cooperate with the curse detection scan.]
“!”
One of those snap-and-chomp birds had entered the very bathroom Ruin was hiding in.
[External inspection. Please come out.]
It perched on the stone sink, wiggling its chubby tail feathers and chirping a happy tune.
But the threat in its voice was unmistakable: come out, or I’ll bite your head off.
Thanks to his training, intel, and previous field work, it wasn’t hard to mimic “Ruins Wayne.”
‘Thankfully, his appearance, hair, height, and frame, was pretty similar to mine.’
Voice modulation? Easy. A little height discrepancy? Say he fixed his posture.
But if something went wrong…
Crunch.
Then it spoke.
[Demonic energy detected. Come out immediately.]
“!”
The voice came from right outside his stall. It had already picked up his trace.
[Final warning. If you do not comply, we will use force. You have ten seconds. Ten—]
Ruin grimaced.
‘Damn it. Am I going to have to fight a Union cop before I even meet the headmaster?’
[Eight—]
He reached behind his back and drew a concealed weapon from his belt. A small, palm-sized knife.
How far was it to the headmaster’s office?
If he took out this patrol, could he clean up before anyone noticed?
Ruin wasn’t just a soldier—he was an intelligence agent. He had high-level combat ability, but he wasn’t meant for frontline battles.
‘If I cause a scene, the heroes will swarm me.’
[Two—]
[One—]
Tension tightened around Ruin’s grip on the blade.
