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Chapter 172: On (1)
A mountain shrouded in deep darkness.
Atop a towering rock that rose like a spire, two figures sat: a young man with white hair and a golden monocle, and an old man whose body was covered in intricate tattoos.
Archbishop of Corruption, phisto, and Archbishop of Beasts, Jackal.
Standing at the pinnacle of demonkind, the two monstrous figures gazed down at Valhalla City and the Hero Academy in the distance.
“Keheheh!”
Jackal shook with laughter, his shoulders quivering as if he couldn’t contain his amusent.
“Well, well, well… It seems the esteed Archbishop of Corruption is having a rough ti, huh?”
“……”
phisto kept his mouth shut, unresponsive to Jackal’s mockery.
This latest failure had clearly struck a nerve; the ever-calm expression on phisto’s face had hardened noticeably.
“Yes… Even I didn’t expect the ‘Blessing of Frost’ to be dispelled so easily.”
“Keheh. Seeing that look on your face after so many decades… quite the spectacle.”
Jackal let out a phlegmy laugh.
“So, what now? Are you giving up?”
“Not a chance.”
phisto shook his head firmly.
“The plan hasn’t completely failed yet.”
It had creaked and wavered, but it wasn’t broken.
“The plan… is it?”
Jackal narrowed his eyes, stroking his chin.
“By the way… there’s sothing I’ve been curious about.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“What exactly is the goal of this plan?”
“The goal…?”
phisto let out a faint chuckle as if the question was absurdly obvious.
“Why, to release our Demon God from his seal, of course….”
“Keheheheheh!”
Before phisto could finish, Jackal burst into a raspy, tallic laughter.
“How long have we known each other, phisto?”
Jackal’s eyes glead, sharp and piercing as if they could see right through him.
“You’ve never intended to release the Demon God’s seal, have you?”
“……”
“Quite the opposite, in fact.”
Jackal turned to look towards the Hero Academy as he continued.
“All of it—trying to make Yuren Helios the ‘Sun,’ creating artificial stigmas, and even capturing that witch—was for one thing.”
His eyes glead ominously.
A low growl reverberated through the forest as hundreds, no, thousands of beasts surrounded phisto.
The tattoos on Jackal’s body glowed with a sinister light.
“To sabotage the seal release plan, wasn’t it?”
“……”
Jackal chuckled again, his shoulders shaking.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know that you’ve been secretly eting with a hero?”
“Haha.”
phisto let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head.
“Well… this is quite the predicant.”
“I’m the one who’s surprised, honestly. Now, would you care to explain why a demon like you is conspiring with a hero?”
“Hm. The reason is simple.”
phisto wore a faint smile.
“He had sothing I needed, and I had sothing he needed.”
“And what exactly was that sothing—”
“And,”
phisto interrupted,
“I also have sothing you need, Jackal.”
“…What?”
phisto adjusted his golden monocle as he spoke.
“The way to enter the ‘Abyss.’ Don’t you want to know it?”
“……!!!”
Jackal’s eyes widened.
“H-How do you…?”
“Haha. Just as you saw through my secrets, I’ve uncovered yours, Jackal.”
phisto smiled slyly.
Jackal’s weathered face twitched in disbelief.
“Well then, what do you say?”
phisto extended a hand toward Jackal.
“For our mutual goals… shall we join forces, even if temporarily?”
“……”
The forest, cloaked in darkness, fell into a heavy silence.
* * *
After the rather unfortunate incident with Iris…
She had locked herself in her room, claiming she was unwell and refusing to respond to any ssages.
‘Well… not surprising.’
I sighed softly, staring at the unanswered ssage on my watch.
“…Should I be glad there’s no class this week?”
Because the other ntoring groups hadn’t finished their sessions, this week’s “Practical Combat Training” was on hold.
“Haa.”
As I sighed and flopped onto my bed—
Ding!
A ssage alert chid on my Hero Watch.
‘Is it Lanez?’
Though she no longer bombarded with hundreds of ssages a day, she still contacted at least three or four tis daily.
“Huh? Not from Lanez this ti?”
When I checked, the ssage wasn’t from Lanez but from Professor Elisha.
[Cadet Dale. Could you co to my office imdiately?]
Her office?
It was still early morning, barely dawn.
What could possibly require my presence so urgently?
‘Well, I’d better go.’
After replying that I’d head over right away, I left the dormitory.
Golden autumn leaves fluttered in the crisp breeze.
“It’s starting to get chilly.”
When I had returned to this ti, it was early spring.
Now, more than half a year had passed.
Half a year.
It wasn’t long, yet it was long enough to completely turn my life upside down.
To the point where my life before regression felt like a dream.
‘No.’
I close my eyes.
A pristine white snowfield unfolds in my mind.
Frost settling on my skin and a blizzard swirling around .
The sight of my comrades dying, and myself crying out helplessly.
‘This isn’t a dream.’
Yes.
It couldn’t be a dream.
That endless stretch of ti, that never-ending nightmare, had shaped who I am today.
‘I can’t let my guard down yet.’
I couldn’t let myself get too comfortable, basking in the sweet happiness of this life.
No matter how much I had changed, there was no guarantee those changes would lead to a better future.
“…Let’s go.”
Pushing aside my tangled emotions, I made my way to Professor Elisha’s office.
Knock, knock.
After a light knock, I entered the office, where Professor Elisha sat with her legs crossed, smoking a cigarette.
“You’re here.”
“What brings here so early in the morning?”
[Translator - Night]
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“Hmm. That’s cold. Am I not allowed to call for Candidate Dale without a reason?”
Elisha stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and rose from her chair.
Walking toward with a leisurely stride, she smirked mischievously and gently touched my cheek.
“This week, there are no classes. Can’t I just say I called you because I wanted to see your face?”
“Well… I suppose there’s no harm in that.”
“Fufu. I’m kidding.”
She gave a light pinch to my cheek, smiling as she did.
Perhaps because she rarely smiled, seeing her like this always made my heart race.
“But anyway.”
The mont didn’t last long.
Her smile faded, and her violet eyes glimred sharply.
“There’s a strange woman’s scent on you.”
“Excuse ?”
“Hmm. It’s not Candidate Iris… nor Candidate Yurina.”
Her gaze sharpened as she scrutinized every inch of .
“Have you been around another woman lately?”
“……”
No, seriously, what kind of blessing for insight is this?
You can figure that out just from scent?
I stared at her in disbelief, and she frowned, letting out a heavy sigh.
“Hah. It’s been just a few days, and you’ve already managed to woo another woman… Truly, Candidate Dale, you’re impossible to leave unattended.”
“No, it’s not like I—”
“Yes, yes. You had no intention of wooing anyone. Just like always.”
Elisha narrowed her eyes and increased the pressure on my cheek pinch.
“…So, why did you call for ?”
Realizing there was nothing to gain by continuing this conversation, I forcibly changed the subject.
Elisha, looking at with a dissatisfied expression, turned and walked to her desk.
Seated once more, she lit another cigarette.
“I called you because of a report from the last ntoring session.”
“What kind of incident?”
“A Ten-Eyed-class demonic beast was reportedly sighted near the school.”
“…Near the school?”
Not all ntoring sessions involved venturing into the southern regions, where beasts frequently appeared, like in the Aaron Party case.
Most sessions took place in relatively safer hunting grounds near the Hero Academy, where beasts were typically of the Three or Four-Eyed class.
And yet, a Ten-Eyed-class demonic beast was sighted here?
“Of course, there’s no concrete evidence. The candidates who supposedly saw it ran off in a panic, so they couldn’t get a good look.”
“Hmm.”
“Personally, I think it’s more likely they misidentified it.”
Fair point.
If candidates had co close enough to visually confirm a Ten-Eyed demonic beast, they wouldn’t have been able to escape; they’d have been slaughtered on the spot.
“Still, we can’t rule it out entirely, so I plan to investigate. If a Ten-Eyed demonic beast is truly near the school… we can’t just let it be.”
A Ten-Eyed-class beast required a high-ranking hero—among the very best—to handle.
If such a creature were near the school, it could lead to significant casualties.
“And you want to assist?”
“Fufu. A delicate woman like myself can’t go investigating alone, can she?”
She smirked mischievously, lighting her cigarette.
‘Delicate woman,’
Huh.
The phrase hardly matched Professor Elisha.
I couldn’t help but let out a dry chuckle.
“Well, to be honest, I haven’t had much ti to spend with you lately, and I was looking for an excuse to et. This case just happened to co up.”
“…You’re being unusually candid.”
“What? Don’t you like honest won?”
She smiled playfully, her tone full of teasing.
Shaking my head, I sighed.
“Fine, I’ll go. There’s no class anyway.”
“Candidate Dale, bottom of the rankings but diligent in attendance, I see.”
“……”
Hey.
That phrasing makes sound pathetic.
“Just kidding.”
Reeling from the factual jab, I clutched my chest as she chuckled mischievously.
But then her smile vanished.
“Well then.”
Her violet eyes glinted fiercely again.
“Let’s take our ti during this investigation… and you can tell , in painstaking detail, about this new woman in your life.”
“……”
It felt like I had walked straight into a spider’s web.
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