episode_0185

000

“Cain!”

Near Orpheans, a small village within the Empire’s territory, was a small forest that people rarely visited due to rumors of specters appearing there.

Dimly lit by the shade of the trees, the lush leaves completely blocking out the sunlight.

The soil was discolored from brown to black, and a cold chill rose from the ground when touched.

It didn’t seem like a place where any living creatures or plants could grow, yet the trees grew so tall.

Cain had heard children say that the specters made the trees grow to hide themselves.

Cain is a 12-year-old boy. An orphan who lost his parents to famine and came to Orpheans.

Black hair, black eyes, and white skin.

He was one of a minority group called the “Black Magic Clan,” and from birth, he possessed the power to wield black magic, as well as being a magic swordsman with a special sword called the “Magic Sword.”

He was still growing, but he had been building muscle little by little through daily training, and he was like a “big brother” to the children in the village.

Hearing his name called, Cain turned his head and crawled out of the hole he had been digging.

It was the bookworm girl, “Tiara.”

Seeing her with her blue hair tied in pigtails, wearing simple clothes, and running towards him, Cain raised one eyebrow.

“Tiara. Why are you here? I told you not to come here because it’s dangerous.”

“That’s what I should be saying…. Were you digging holes here again?”

Tiara looked at Cain with a look of exasperation, gazing at the large hole behind him.

Recently, Tiara’s concern about Cain’s strange behavior had been growing.

It felt like an obsession, as if it was part of his daily routine, coming to this forest without the teacher’s knowledge and digging holes.

Could the darkness in his heart have spread to his head? It might be a bit rude to think that, but Cain’s attitude towards others hadn’t changed at all.

“Well, yeah.”

“Not ‘Well, yeah’…. Sigh, the teacher was looking for Cain.”

At Tiara’s words, Cain stretched and twisted his waist from side to side.

“Okay. Let’s go back to the village.”

Nodding energetically, Cain took the lead with Tiara, heading towards the exit of the forest.

Tiara sighed, but still followed Cain at a trot.

“I need to learn ‘Telepathy’ magic quickly, even if it’s just for Cain’s sake….”

“Haha. You’ll learn it soon. Tiara has a talent for magic, after all.”

As the two moved along the path, they left the forest, and after walking a bit further, they entered the entrance of a small, old village that felt lived-in.

The village of orphans, Orpheans.

The residents were mostly young children.

Due to the recent famine that claimed many lives, all the children who lost their parents were sent to this village.

Normally, it wouldn’t have been possible for children alone to solve all their food, clothing, and shelter needs while living on their own.

The goal of those who drove the orphans out of the village was the selfish desire that they would quietly die where they couldn’t be seen.

“Cain. Tiara. You’re back. Did Cain go to the forest again?”

Cain nodded, and the man who gave a wry smile was an old man who was already over 60.

The only adult in this Orpheans.

The man, called “Teacher” by the orphans, was originally a professor or scholar somewhere.

He came to be the teacher of Orpheans, which would have become a trash can for young lives without him, teaching them to read and write and teaching them the basics so that they could live on their own.

If they had talent, he would specially teach them martial arts or magic, and all the children in the village respected and followed “Teacher.”

Even those who had been forcibly exiled by adults and had a sense of distrust towards them made an exception for “Teacher.”

“Cain is already strong enough to fight nearby monsters on his own. But, please don’t be too careless. There might be something in that forest that even I don’t know about.”

“Yes. Teacher.”

Cain nodded and smiled at Teacher’s words.

And naturally, Cain’s gaze turned to the small boy hiding behind Teacher.

The blond, blue-eyed, disheveled-haired boy was wearing simple clothes, but there was a sense of noble dignity about him.

His age was similar to or slightly younger than Cain’s. He had a timid impression, but he was wearing a small sword that didn’t suit him.

“Teacher. Who is that child?”

“This is ‘Abel,’ who has become our family member from today. He has already greeted all the other children. Cain, please take care of him.”

?

Cain nodded and walked towards the boy named Abel, extending his hand.

“So, you’re called Abel! I’m ‘Cain.’ Nice to meet you. If you have any questions, ask me.”

“Y-Yes… Nice to meet you. Cain.”

Abel cautiously but warmly grasped Cain’s hand, which felt soft and warm compared to the hands of other children his age.

At the time, no one knew that this would be a meeting that would greatly change the fate of the continent.

001

After that, Abel was slowly accepted as a member of the village.

Abel himself had an indecisive side, but he tried to be proactive in interacting with people.

Besides, this was a village of orphans. Centered on the teacher, all the other children were like family.

Abel, who was the same age as Cain, was knowledgeable and taught the children about herbs and edible plants, finding his place.

“Cain. How much more do we have to dig?”

“Hmm- I wonder…. I think we should dig a little more.”

When Cain left the village, Abel would follow him and help the boy dig holes in the forest of specters.

Abel was more knowledgeable than Cain, but he lacked stamina, so he would quickly get tired and climb out of the hole.

To be honest, Abel found it hard to understand Cain’s actions of continuing to dig into the hole that was already deeper than their height.

Abel sighed and looked at Cain’s sword, which was leaning against a tree outside the pit and was a bit large for a one-handed sword.

Feeling a subtle magical reaction, he reached out and grabbed it without realizing it, and the black blade felt beautiful.

“Cain’s sword… is called a ‘Magic Sword,’ right? It’s amazing. It’s like it’s alive.”

“Yeah. That’s what they say. I still don’t have enough power to control magic, so I can’t use it properly.”

Cain answered Abel’s words without stopping digging.

“And. If you think it’s amazing, your sword is the same. It’s a ‘Holy Sword,’ right? That.”

“Oh, uh…. How did you know?”

As Abel nodded in embarrassment at Cain’s remark, Cain chuckled and continued.

“Just. It felt similar to my sword, but something completely opposite. Teacher told me about it before. There are ‘Magic Swordsmen’ like me and ‘Heroes’ who wield holy swords in the world.”

“Hero…”

Hearing that word, Abel clenched his fist and lowered his head.

“Not just anyone can become a hero. Someone like me, who is cowardly and weak….”

“What are you talking about? You’re not a coward or weak.”

Cain stopped digging at Abel’s words and turned his gaze outside the pit.

“I’m a coward. Because I betrayed the people who believed in me and ran away all the way here.”

The next moment, Cain jumped out of the pit and landed in front of Abel, who was startled and flinched without realizing it.

“Are you talking about the people from your hometown? You’re from a royal family, right? You.”

“… …”

Abel blinked at Cain’s words.

“Tiara secretly told me before that you have blond hair and blue eyes. She knows a lot. Well, no matter what your background is, the fact that you came here means you were betrayed by the adults.”

Abel listened to Cain’s words and remained silent for a moment before answering in a trembling voice.

“Albert Caldearis.”

“Huh?”

Cain made a strange noise as he looked at the boy who had uttered the string of unfamiliar words.

“Albert. That’s my real name. Caldearis is the last name…. I’m a member of the royal family of the kingdom.”

“Royalty! …I knew you weren’t an ordinary young master. So, you lived in the royal palace? You’re a prince?”

Cain’s eyes lit up as he grabbed Abel’s shoulder.

“Y-Yes. That’s right. I’m not the only prince, there’s one more above me…. My older brother is there.”

“Then. That guy is the next ‘King’ of the kingdom…? But why did a royal like you come all the way here?”

Abel avoided Cain’s gaze at Cain’s blunt question and answered as if muttering to himself.

“Most of the retainers in the royal castle want to make my older brother the king…. The very existence of another human being with the right to inherit the throne like me was probably a thorn in their side.”

“… Why? Your brother will become king even if you just stay there.”

Abel calmly returned the answer to Cain’s question.

“If there are forces that try to install me as king. I’ll have to fight them too. I don’t really want to be king, though.”

“Hmm… I don’t get it.”

“A-Anyway. …With the help of the people who helped me, I hid my identity and came here to escape from the people on ‘my brother’s’ side.”

Cain listened to Abel’s explanation and nodded as if he understood.

“So. Your real name is Albert, but you’ll keep calling me Abel, right?”

“Uh- Yes, that’s right…. Is that all?”

Cain’s reaction was a little different from what Abel had expected, and he asked with a surprised expression.

“But… I’m not an imperial, I’m a royal… and I’m not an orphan.”

“What does it matter. You came here to avoid the adults. Whether it was intentional or not. It’s the same for the bookworm Tiara, Uni who wants to be a nun, and Lisa who likes to hunt. You’re my family too.”

At Cain’s words, Abel raised his head and looked into his eyes.

There was a light in his black eyes that wouldn’t lose to anyone else.

“Cain… thank you.”

“Why are you thanking me. I’m just saying what’s obvious. Now, let’s keep digging holes.”

Cain said that and jumped back into the pit.

Abel also wiped his face with the back of his hand and cautiously walked down below.

002

After that, Cain and Abel went to the back of the forest almost every day and dug holes.

When the depth of the pit was finally about three times Cain’s height, Abel sat down tiredly.

“Cain. Why are you digging this hole?”

“Hmm- Because I think there’s treasure…. It’s like I hear a voice calling me.”

When Cain answered that, Uni, who was preparing a ladder outside the pit, poked her head into the pit and raised her voice.

“What!? I’ve never heard of that!? Isn’t that maybe a revelation from ‘God’? I’m jealous~!”

“I told you about it before. You were the one who laughed and said, ‘What’s that~’.”

“R-Really?”

The cheerful girl with bright pink hair scratched her hair and smiled with an “Ehehe.”

Uni was a year younger than Cain, but she was the oldest of the girls.

Therefore, like Cain among the boys, she was the oldest sister, and.

Her dream was to build a monastery where she could take care of orphans with the teacher in the future and become a nun there.

Unlike Uni, who showed such a reaction, Abel paused for a moment before speaking.

“I heard that when men enter puberty, they sometimes have strange imaginations…. Are you okay?”

“It’s not a delusion unique to puberty…? More than that, it’s amazing that you haven’t asked me until now for a year.”

When Abel shrugged at Cain’s words, suddenly the corpse of a huge crow with an arrow stuck in it fell from the sky into the pit. In front of Cain and Abel.

It wasn’t an ordinary crow, but a type of monster.

“Uwaaaack!?”

“W-What is it!?”

When Cain and Abel raised their voices at the same time, a silver-haired girl on a tree outside the pit looked at the two in the pit with cold eyes.

“… I saw a Skull Crow. I didn’t mean to.”

“L-Lisa… Please don’t shoot monsters based on instinct….”

Lisa, who at first glance has an expression like a doll devoid of emotion, is just a girl who is not good at expressing emotions.

She is a half-harpy, and she has special hair growing on her head, which shows her emotions through it, and when you see her hair hanging down, you can tell that she is sorry.

“First, let’s get this corpse out of the pit.”

“Yeah. That’s right. We have to bury it somewhere else.”

When Cain heard Abel’s words and tried to grab the monster’s corpse, something like a black hand emerged from the ground and grabbed the monster.

“Uwat!?”

“Cain!? That black hand is…”

The shadowy, wriggling hand pulled the monster’s corpse with great force, and soon began to absorb the bones, flesh, and blood that remained in it like nutrients.

“Cain! Let go of the monster!”

Abel shouted that and swung his holy sword, and the black hands were easily cut off.

Cain also listened to Abel’s words and dropped the monster’s corpse on the ground, and more hands emerged and greedily devoured the monster’s corpse.

“Eww… Gross…”

Uni, who had been looking into the pit after hearing the commotion, frowned when she saw that.

“…Cain. It really seems like there’s something down there…. But no matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like treasure.”

“…I guess so. Damn~ I dug all the way here….”

Cain also nodded at Abel’s words, but the important thing was the children’s safety.

Therefore, he tried to give up the thought and ask Uni to lower the ladder, but at that moment-

Gugugugu… The sound of the ground shaking was heard.

“E-Earthquake!?”

“Cain! Get up here quickly!”

Uni raised a voice like a scream, and Lisa also jumped down from the tree to help Uni hold the ladder.

“Abel! Go up first!”

Cain said that and had Abel climb the ladder first, and the moment he tried to grab the ladder that Uni had lowered-

With the feeling of his body staggering, the ground collapsed.

The pile of dirt slid down like a slide, and Cain lost his balance and reached out his hand towards the ladder, grabbed by gravity.

“Cain!”

Abel reached out his hand to grab his hand-

Just before that, his hand brushed past, and Cain fell backwards.

“Cain!!!”

In his fading consciousness, Cain heard the voice calling his name and disappeared into the darkness.

003

“Ugh… It hurts…!”

Cain, who had regained consciousness on the pile of dirt, staggered and got up.

Fortunately, the dirt acted as a cushion, and thanks to riding the flow down, he didn’t seem to have broken anything, although there was an impact.

Looking around, he saw mechanical steel walls, floors, and ceilings. The light was illuminated by faint magical lamps.

Looking up, he could see that the hole he had passed through when he flowed into this space was blocked by a pile of dirt.

“Seriously…. What is this place? An underground dungeon…?”

When he tried to move his aching body, he suddenly noticed something in his hand and lowered his head, and there was his black magic sword “Pandora,” as if it had followed him there somehow.

“You… You were definitely outside the pit. Did you follow me?”

Cain let out a sigh of relief at his partner, who seemed to be answering with a faint black light.

“Anyway. I have to find an exit. I don’t want to starve to death here…!”

When Cain strengthened his will and took a step, he heard tinnitus and a voice in his ear.

[──…]

“…That voice just now…. The one I heard outside…. Is it inside here?”

Moving blindly in a situation where he didn’t know the front, back, top, or bottom was not a wise decision.

Cain slowly moved in the direction the voice was leading him.

While walking, he was worried that monsters might pop out if this was a dungeon, but fortunately that didn’t happen.

However, strangely enough, the cold was so strong that he couldn’t help but shudder as white breaths flowed out every time he breathed.

“After worrying about starving to death, do I have to worry about freezing to death…!?”

However, the further he went, the clearer the voice calling him became, and when Cain, who thought he had arrived at the deepest part, threw open the door to the last room-

As if the cold that had covered the entire facility was flowing out from here.

The ceiling and floor were frozen and there were icicles, and in the center of the room was a giant translucent coffin with a girl sleeping with her eyes closed.

It was a fairly old facility, but there was nothing wrong with the girl’s body inside, and above all, what stole Cain’s gaze was the girl’s appearance.

Black hair, pale skin. He couldn’t see her eyes because she didn’t open them.

“…You’re- Lilim…? I, for some reason, I know your name….”

Without realizing it, he called her name and went closer to the coffin, putting his hand on it.

A sharply piercing cold covered his hand, and he retreated without realizing it.

“… …”

At that time, Pandora, which was hanging behind his back, reacted by emitting a strong magical power.

“…That’s right. If it’s the power of you and me, we can break something like this coffin-!”

When the boy drew his magic sword, ominous magical power enveloped the sword. It showed the highest output in Cain’s short life, taking on a form like a black beast.

“Devour it! Pandora!”

The blade of the magic sword, which was swung strongly, pierced through the cold and broke the glass-like thing that was surrounding the girl.

At the same time, the powerful black magic that was entangled inside was released and swallowed the cold that had been spreading around.

Cain himself was almost blown away by the aftermath, but he stood his ground by stepping down hard.

Then, he took a step forward and supported the girl’s body, which was falling forward.

“…Ugh, ugh…”

The girl-Lilim slowly uttered a voice from her mouth and opened her eyes.

As expected, they were beautiful black eyes.

“…Ah…”

And, after making eye contact with Cain, she was held in his arms.

“W-Wait a minute…”

Cain was flustered and blushed. However, the girl didn’t care and buried her face.

“Finally… I finally met you. My partner… My other half…. What is your name now?”

“M-My name? It’s Cain, but…. U-Um, please let go.”

Cain said that and barely separated the clinging girl.

“…Cain-nim. Thank you for saving Lilim…. Thank you.”

Cain scratched his cheek, wondering how to react to Lilim, who was saying that with her eyes moist.

004

After that, Lilim said that she was a member of the sealed Black Magic Clan in the past and that she and Cain had a relationship of “companions” that transcended time.

She said that the wheel of fate had begun to turn.

After talking about things that were hard for Cain to understand, they used the transfer device in the facility to escape to the surface.

The passage connecting the surface and the underground was a disc in an abandoned shrine in the village.

“Amazing… It’s ancient technology. This.”

“… … Is this the place where Cain-nim lives?”

“That’s right. It’s already dark, so the teacher will be worried. Let’s go quickly. I have to introduce you too.”

Cain said that, grabbed Lilim’s hand, and headed to the teacher’s house.

When he thought he heard the sound of children sobbing getting closer, he saw the teacher with a serious expression.

“Teacher!”

When Cain’s voice rang out, his friends, including Abel, ran to Cain.

The children called Cain’s name and burst into tears.

And through them, the teacher ran up and hugged his body.

“Cain! You’re safe…! I’m so glad…! Please stop digging holes now!”

Cain was feeling guilty, even though he thought it was the first time he had seen the teacher looking so disheveled.

“S-Sorry. More than that, there’s someone I want to introduce!”

At Cain’s words, the teacher dropped his body and made eye contact with the girl standing next to him.

“This child is also a member of the Black Magic Clan?”

“Yeah. Her name is ‘Lilim’. She was in the ruins under the forest.”

“Underground ruins? That is…. No, I understand.”

The teacher lowered his body and made eye contact with Lilim. Lilim, who didn’t show much interest in humans other than Cain, watched the teacher who was looking at her.

`…Terribly cold eyes. An emotionless child with a different feeling from Lisa.`

The teacher thought so, but then smiled and raised his body.

“Lilim. You seem to want to be with Cain.”

When Lilim nodded without opening her mouth, the teacher looked around and said to the children.

“From today, Lilim is also a family member of our village. Everyone, please be kind to her too.”

In this way, Cain’s small escapade ended with welcoming a new family member to the village.

005

Two years had passed since Lilim came to the village, and three years had passed since Abel came.

On a dark night, only the moonlight quietly illuminated the village of orphans.

When the shadow lurking in the shadows stepped on the outskirts of the village, carried by the wind that brought a bleak aura of death.

The teacher immediately opened his eyes and ran to the dorm where the children were.

“Teacher…?”

Cain, who opened his eyes in a sleepy state, heard the teacher grabbing his arm and talking.

“Listen carefully, Cain. Take the children to the facility where you found Lilim. Others won’t be able to find you there easily.”

“Teacher is…?”

When Cain asked that, the teacher paused for a moment, then smiled reassuringly and stroked his head.

“… I’ll buy you time to get there. Don’t worry. I used to work at the academy. I won’t just be defeated by assassins.”

Cain, who made eye contact with the teacher who told him to trust him and grabbed his arm, nodded and led the children to the old shrine in the village.

“Teacher…. Are you going to be okay?”

When Uni spoke in a worried voice, Tiara grabbed Uni’s hand.

“The teacher was a joint professor of the Sword Arts Department and the Magic Department, which are the top 3 departments at the academy. To put it simply, he’s a very strong person.”

“Lilim. Transfer magic.”

“Yes. Cain-nim.”

The moment Lilim moved her magic power to activate the magic circle, Abel broke away from the children and moved outside the platform.

“Abel!?”

“What are you doing!? Come back!”

“…Sorry. Cain.”

Abel said that and looked at Cain from beyond the wall created by the transfer magic.

“The ring of protection that I received when I left the royal palace is shaking…. It’s definitely the people from the kingdom who came to find me…. So, if they find me, they won’t care about this village anymore and go back.”

“What are you talking about!?”

Cain shouted, but Abel turned his body.

“…Farewell. Cain…. I was happy to be able to be brothers with you.”

“Abel!!”

The next moment, Cain’s vision was dyed white.

When he regained consciousness, he could see himself moved to the room where he had first met Lilim.

“Ugh…! Lilim, please! Take me to the ground again!”

“… The transfer magic circle that moved a large number of people needs to be recharged with magic power. At least…. 30 minutes.”

“30 minutes…. Then Abel is…!”

The sound of children crying, Cain looks at the ceiling with an expression that he doesn’t know what to do.

“…Is there no way to check the situation on the ground from here?”

At Tiara’s words, Lilim looked around the machines, and then illusion magic unfolded in front of everyone.

It was showing the village on the ground, Orpheans.

“Te, Teacher…! That’s…!”

Cain’s desperate voice and the children’s screams. Some lost consciousness and collapsed.

There was the teacher, who had one arm cut off and was lying on the floor. And, men in black clothes were surrounding him.

The teacher’s body already seemed to be cold.

“Even the great professor of the academy couldn’t overcome the power of time…. Your courage and magic were wonderful. You were an enemy, but it was an honor to be able to fight you.”

The man who seemed to be the leader of the black clothes said that and ordered his subordinate.

“Find Prince Albert, as ordered by Lucius-nim.”

“There’s no need for that.”

At that time, a voice was heard interrupting the man’s words.

“Abel…!”

As Cain called his name, there was Abel – Albert, who was holding a holy sword in his hand and confronting the man in black clothes.

“…Prince Albert. This man gave his own life to protect you. But to show yourself in front of us is… isn’t it a foolish thing?”

“As long as I’m alive, my older brother will try to get here… He’ll aim for me. I can’t put my family in danger to save my own life.”

Albert, who answered the man’s words, pointed the holy sword at the man.

The man was surprised by Albert’s words, so he paused for a moment before straightening his weapon.

“I see. Is that the duty of someone who stands at the top?”

“That’s wrong…. It’s family love.”

“…Wonderful. But, it’s still foolish.”

The next moment, the black-clothed man’s body disappeared, leaving afterimages.

Then, his figure appeared right behind Albert.

“… …”

Albert was still alive up to that point.

No, he was mistaken that he was alive.

He finally realized his death when he spurted blood from his neck and fell forward.

When the pouring blood was splattered on the holy sword, the holy sword tried to go berserk-

“I’m glad I brought the core of the holy sword.”

The core that the man was holding in his hand calmed the holy sword’s berserk state, and the holy sword shattered as it was.

“…A, bel-”

Black magic gathered in Cain’s eyes as he watched that scene.

Despair.

The deep despair and anger that he had been helplessly murdered in front of him, someone who was like a family – a brother, covered his body and awakened the deep sleep of the magic sword “Pandora” that he had.

“…! Everyone, get away from Cain-nim.”

“What’s going to happen!?”

“Could it be… This is the awakening of the magic sword in the book…?”

“Cain…!”

`Cain hyung!` `Cain oppa!`

The voices of his family called his name, but the fact that he couldn’t hear the voice of his brother made Cain fall into deeper despair.

`Because I’m… Because I’m weak…! The teacher too…! Abel too…!`

[Yes…. This is caused by your weakness. You stupid Cain.]

As if affirming Cain’s thoughts, a woman’s voice was heard.

A fascinating voice that was both new and familiar.

In the darkening vision, “it” was standing.

With light brown skin and turquoise hair that fell to her waist.

A woman with eyes full of love, unlike her true nature.

The color of her eyes was a beautifully shining violet.

Inside the pupil, there was a black hexagram symbol of perfection.

Her attire was like that of a noble lady, wearing a gorgeous dress all over her body without any exposure.

The being that suddenly appeared came closer and pointed to Cain’s forehead with her index finger.

“Pan, dora…”

“When you are angry and despair, and the vessel of your soul is filled with black turbid water. I bestow power upon you.”

“If you were strong, you wouldn’t have had to run away.”

“If you were strong, your benefactor wouldn’t have died.”

“If you were strong, your brother wouldn’t have died either.”

“Cain. Your destiny lies on the path of hegemony…. Now is the time to accept my power.”

“If you do so…. You will be able to protect everything you tried to protect…!”

Every time the woman’s voice flowed out word by word, the amount of black magic covering Cain’s body amplified.

“Lilim! Do something!”

“…No. This is what it’s supposed to be. Cain-nim needs power.”

When Lilim answered Uni’s words, the others closed their mouths.

“───!!!”

The scream of the boy full of anger echoed in the underground.

It was the moment when the black beast that would devour the continent was born.