Chapter 21: Those who are busy moving

The sun set, and a dark night sky unfolded.

Students, finished with their day, went to bed, while only professors with lingering tasks worked in agony.

Pascal Myers, dressed in drab clothes, was heading somewhere.

In his hand, he clutched a dagger that exuded an ominous aura.

It was the Myers family’s greatest weapon and treasure, created by their ancestors.

Having served as a family heirloom for a long time, the dagger had written a history of many deaths.

The accumulated malevolence and curses were so profound that even Kal Myers, the head of the Myers family, who was close to transcendence, could not fathom their depth.

Pascal clenched the hand holding the dagger.

The emanating malevolence grew thicker, blurring his surroundings.

One of the dagger’s abilities allowed him to evade the eyes of the transcendent Academy Head.

It was entirely thanks to this dagger’s power that Pascal had been able to establish the core without anyone knowing until now.

However, even as he recalled the dagger’s remarkable performance, his expression was far from good.

The heirloom, which had written a long history with the Myers family, was destined to meet its end today.

By the command of the current head, Kal Myers, it would be sacrificed to the core, marking its demise.

“Haaah…”

Pascal gazed at the dagger with a bitter expression.

When he first received it from his father, he had only felt joy.

Although it was an item he would naturally inherit when he eventually became the family head, the fact that it was given to him so early meant his father trusted him that much, or so he thought.

At the public bestowal ceremony, Pascal had vowed.

‘I will achieve good grades at the academy and graduate with honor.’

‘I will do my best not to tarnish the Myers family name.’

‘And I will certainly repay this trust.’

He faithfully carried out his father’s orders.

Even if it was an absurd command, he pushed himself to the limit to somehow accomplish it.

‘This time is no different.’

In front of Pascal, who had stopped walking, a red platform had been set up.

This was the core, secretly installed to deceive the Academy Head.

To activate it, a large amount of fresh blood was needed, but the Myers family could not afford to prepare it.

Therefore, Kal Myers had prepared a device.

It was a ‘cleansing’ magic circle designed to gather all the fresh blood flowing through the academy into one place.

Pascal tore the luxurious-looking scroll he had hidden in his pocket.

Simultaneously, several small magic circles appeared on the red platform, exuding an ominous aura.

The platform seemed to flick out red energy like a snake’s tongue, as if waiting for a sacrifice.

Pascal used the Myers family heirloom in his hand to cut his own palm.

His flesh tore, and blood flowed out, which the dagger greedily drank as if it were delicious.

Soon, a powerful malevolence erupted from the dagger, dyeing the surroundings crimson-black.

Pascal then threw the dagger, which had absorbed his blood, onto the platform.

– *Crunch!*

With a sound like a predator fiercely crunching the bones of its prey, the platform began to shake violently.

This phenomenon was like a warning that the core was malfunctioning, but this malfunction was exactly what he wanted.

Soon, as intended by his father, Kal Myers, the core would spew out monsters.

‘I need to leave this place before that happens.’

Pascal immediately moved his feet.

Finally, the day of reckoning.

Tonight, the fate of the Myers family and Pascal would be decided.

****

“……It has begun.”

In the middle of the forest, which had grown dark with night…

Elisha, who had been quietly meditating, opened her eyes.

At that moment, an ominous wind brushed past her hair.

As Elisha rose and murmured something softly, a spear flew and adhered to her hand.

“Hoo…”

Elisha took a short, deep breath.

Soon, she began to run in the direction the wind had come from.

Tall trees bent, and the surrounding scenery rapidly changed.

Despite her high speed, she ran straight without blinking once.

The dense trees of the lush forest gradually thinned, and the stars in the night sky began to appear clearly.

– *Boom!*

At that moment, with a tremendous roar, a massive axe plunged into the ground before Elisha.

Although it was a sudden attack, she evaded it lightly by twisting her body, as if she had expected it.

“It’s an orc again.”

Elisha, having widened the distance, glared at the massive monster before her.

– *Thump!*

Annoyed that its axe had missed, it stamped its foot for a moment, then lifted the axe embedded in the ground again.

It was about to throw it again, just like before…

But Elisha, with no intention of waiting this time, charged first.

Without giving it a moment, she immediately pierced the orc’s neck.

– *Thwack!*

The orc, instantly with a hole in its body, stumbled backward, clutching its bleeding neck.

It was a monster with rapid regeneration, so if left alone, it might survive, but Elisha was not such a lenient woman.

Charging again, she pierced its head with her spear this time, and the orc died instantly on the spot.

Confirming it was dead, Elisha retrieved her weapon and looked around.

No other monsters were visible, but her keen senses picked up even the slightest things.

‘A few are hiding… Oh no, has it already activated?’

A murky malevolence was mixed in the air.

This amount wouldn’t significantly affect the human body, but it would greatly increase the monsters’ aggressiveness.

Elisha tightened her grip on the spear.

This was an incident she had experienced multiple times.

Soon, the crazed head of the Myers family would attack the academy.

He sought to achieve transcendence by sacrificing the blood of countless people.

She had to stop it somehow before a tragedy like the first regression occurred.

“Hoo…”

Elisha took a long, deep breath.

Monsters would undoubtedly continue to appear and try to interfere, but she felt no unease.

She had already resolved it multiple times.

Furthermore, Elisha had grown even faster than in previous regressions.

So, she was certain she could protect the academy this time too.

To minimize her worries, she had also securely set up a safety measure.

‘…I locked the door, so it should be fine for now.’

Before coming here, she had already strongly blocked his room’s door.

One might misunderstand it as imprisonment, but it was an unavoidable choice, as she couldn’t let him go out of curiosity and get hurt.

And besides, it was the time when he would be soundly asleep.

If she handled everything before dawn and unlocked it as before, no one would know.

Thinking so, Elisha sprinted through the forest to deal with the next monster.

****

– *Crunch!*

“Huh…?”

At the sudden sound, Academy Head Savina, who had been quietly inspecting the barrier, turned her head.

She looked around with a hazy expression…

The surroundings were no different than usual, but her transcendent vision quickly caught many things.

‘The malevolence has grown denser.’

Only then did things she hadn’t noticed, due to her focus on repairing the barrier, begin to enter her sight.

The night sky, tinged redder than usual.

Magic circles visible throughout the academy.

Even the cries of monsters echoing from somewhere…

None of them were good omens.

“Haaah… What are those professors doing?”

She already had many things to worry about.

She wished the professors would handle such incidents themselves, but they were truly unhelpful.

Even as she complained internally, Savina prepared to move herself.

At that moment, feeling a chilling aura, she cast a protective barrier around her body.

– *Clang! Clang!*

Almost simultaneously, something struck the barrier and bounced off.

Savina glared at the flying object.

‘A dagger? No, this is…!’

Before she could react, the daggers began to emit a strong light and transform.

Their speed was so rapid that even the process of magic circles being drawn was omitted.

In an instant, the daggers transformed into thin chains, binding Savina’s arms and legs.

“With mere things like this…”

– *Snap!*

However, her physical abilities, having reached the realm of transcendence, easily shattered the chains.

Savina regained freedom of her arms and legs in mere seconds, yet for some reason, her expression was stiff.

“This is…”

“As expected of a transcendent. Perhaps even a curse passed down through the family cannot completely incapacitate you.”

Savina turned her head in the direction of the voice.

There stood a man cloaked in pitch-black darkness and red attire.

Perhaps he wished to conceal his identity, as his face was hidden by a black aura, but Savina immediately saw through it.

“Myers? Have you finally gone mad?”

“What a thing to say… This is merely my personal curiosity, unrelated to the family, Lady Savina.”

Kal Myers said so with a wry smile.

At this, Savina felt her anger boil.

“You’d turn the academy into an enemy just out of curiosity?”

“Of course not. I was merely curious about your power, Lady Savina. I have no intention of attacking the academy whatsoever.”

“Hah, what nonsense are you spouting…”

Before she could finish speaking, hidden weapons suddenly flew at her.

She closed her mouth and focused on defense.

– *Clang-clang-clang!!!*

Numerous metal objects struck the barrier, creating an unpleasant sound.

“Still… it seems the curse wasn’t completely ineffective?”

“How dare you…!”

Savina bit her lip.

Her current condition was terrible.

The fatigue accumulated from long hours of sleeplessly repairing the barrier and simultaneously handling various tasks was eroding Savina’s stamina in real-time.

Ultimately, she couldn’t perfectly counter the surprise attack, and some of the curse Kal Myers had placed on the chains seeped into her body.

Fortunately, she succeeded in resisting a significant portion, so her body wasn’t completely incapacitated, but the balance between her physical body and her mind, which was crucial for a transcendent, became unstable.

‘Had the Myers family been hiding something like this?’

A curse that shook the body’s balance…

This was a fatal curse for transcendents, for whom the boundary between body and mind began to blur.

Savina endured, regenerating the cracking barrier with trembling hands.

“You seem quite distressed, Lady Savina.”

“……Shut up! If my body were in perfect condition, I would have subdued you long ago!”

Savina shouted back at Kal Myers’ provocation.

It was an arrogant remark, but as a transcendent, her words were not wrong at all.

If he hadn’t cast the curse beforehand, he would have had no chance of victory whatsoever.

However, due to a series of misfortunes, Savina’s situation was not good.

‘I can’t just keep defending like this. I’ll be in danger first.’

Having calmly assessed the situation, she quickly moved her magic.

The barrier grew slightly faint, and translucent blades and threads made of magic appeared in various places, deflecting the hidden weapons.

As she, who had only insisted on defense, began to attack, Kal Myers’ expression stiffened.

Just as Savina, thinking she could seize victory if things continued this way, tried to close the distance…

– *Crack!*

The same chains as before bound her arms and legs.

The curse had been re-activated.

“Why…? Could it be…?”

As the chains, which she had clearly destroyed, reappeared, a bewildered Savina paused.

Kal Myers began to murmur something.

Savina, realizing what he was about to do, hastily flung a translucent blade, piercing his shoulder.

“Control (制).”

It was already too late.