Ch.340Safety Insensitivity (4)

I’ve never been seriously threatened by anyone in my life. This includes both my past and present lives.

Perhaps due to deeply ingrained notions from my previous life, I also have a sense of safety insensitivity. You could call it a characteristic trait of Koreans.

Above all, I had been optimistic because my daily life hadn’t changed much even after revealing my identity.

Tomorrow would probably be just another day like today. What would I be doing two days from now? People’s stares were becoming familiar—maybe I should take some questions.

Of course, I’m aware of my popularity. The emotions included in that popularity are positive ones like admiration, respect, and esteem.

Very occasionally, truly rarely, there were negative emotions like envy, but they never caused me any harm. I can understand that people think differently.

But “killing intent” is different. It’s neither a positive nor negative emotion. It’s an energy that can be emitted through “calculation” rather than emotion.

There’s a high probability that devil worshippers harbor such killing intent toward me. Thanks to the Biography of Xenon, they had been hiding well but were now being mercilessly hunted down.

Even Cardinal Bark, one of their leaders, had been defeated by Kate, so it’s obvious I’d be their number one assassination target.

Yet I carelessly went about my daily life as usual. Part of it was trusting my guards, but I think it was more about not believing it could happen.

Not only Adelia and Kate, but also the academy’s security guards were watching me, and even Gartz Balack and the Reapers were protecting me from afar.

I’m not sure if this still counts as safety insensitivity, but the fact remains that I was careless.

And I never thought it would come back to haunt me so soon.

Ping!

The sound of something cutting sharply through the air struck my ears. I realized it too late, distracted by the person who had collapsed from cardiac arrest.

Could it be an arrow? But before I could react, the result was already apparent.

Thud!!

“Argh!!”

The sound of a flying dagger embedding itself, followed by someone’s pain-filled scream. These sounds penetrated my ears.

It wasn’t me who made the sound, nor was it Adelia beside me. It wasn’t Kate either, who was examining the collapsed patient.

The noise came from behind us, not far away at all.

‘Could it be…’

I hurriedly turned my head. My mind became instantly complicated, worried that a dagger meant for me had hurt someone else.

However, it didn’t take long to realize that was not the case. At the same time, I could tell the dagger wasn’t aimed at me.

Because…

“Urghh…!”

A pain-filled groan came from empty air, with an arrow visibly embedded in nothing. Red blood was dripping—drip, drip—onto the floor from where the arrow was stuck.

Looking more carefully, the space seemed to be refracting. It showed a clear difference from dark elves, who completely blend with space itself without any refraction.

Invisibility—one of the higher magics, specialized for infiltration and assassination. While easy to learn, the challenge lies in how long one can maintain it.

Someone using such magic had followed behind us without making any sound.

“Issac!”

Unlike me who belatedly grasped the situation, Adelia began to act first. Though unarmed, she was a talented individual who had served as a martial arts assistant instructor alongside Nicole.

Moreover, having received strict training from her father, subduing an assassin who failed in their ambush was no challenge at all.

Even if she couldn’t properly detect them due to the invisibility, it wasn’t a problem.

Because as the assailant was hit by the arrow, their invisibility was slowly fading.

Like a drop of ink falling into clear water, the attacker’s appearance gradually revealed itself.

Thwack!

Meanwhile, Adelia delivered a clean kick to the legs. The assassin, suffering from the arrow wound, couldn’t even react.

Eventually, the attacker lost balance and tumbled to the ground. Adelia quickly dominated his back position and strongly pressed down on his neck.

Not with her hands but with her knee as she had been taught, making it difficult for the attacker to even struggle.

“Lord Issac! Are you alright?!”

Just as Adelia subdued the attacker, Kate, who had been examining the patient, rushed over in a hurry.

Judging by her anxious expression, she looked like she might collapse at any moment, fearing the worst had happened.

Fortunately, the situation she feared hadn’t occurred, but it was still serious nonetheless.

I looked at Kate rushing toward me and answered in a dumbfounded voice.

“I-I’m fine. But…”

“Everyone move away from here!! Quickly!!”

Before I could finish speaking, Adelia shouted loudly. It seemed she was yelling at the people who had gathered around.

People had already crowded around because of the man who collapsed from cardiac arrest. Moreover, we couldn’t be certain there was only one attacker.

So the priority was to get people to move away. When people crowd together, it creates an environment for others to sneak in.

“Urgh…! You bastard…!”

Meanwhile, the attacker subdued by Adelia had his invisibility completely dispelled, revealing his full appearance. I examined the attacker who was glaring fiercely.

The man, presumed to be a devil worshipper, looked utterly ordinary. Plain brown hair, blue eyes, and stubble marks on his face.

His build wasn’t bulky but rather sleek—generally suitable for an assassin. But what I paid most attention to was his race.

‘A human?’

The man was human. Not an elf or demon, but an ordinary human.

But it didn’t make sense. A human capable of using higher magic like invisibility would be valued by their country.

Despite advancements, human magic still lagged far behind that of demons or elves.

Yet this man had used magic. And inside the academy where magic was forbidden.

The academy should detect magic the moment it’s activated, so how did he not get caught? No, how did he even enter the academy in the first place?

My head was spinning in a situation where nothing was easy to accept.

If an arrow hadn’t flown and hit this man, an unspeakable tragedy might have occurred.

It’s my fault.

My carelessness almost created a terrible tragedy.

Unlike inside the cage, the world outside is far too dangerous.

“…I sense a filthy aura.”

Amidst my confusion, like tangled threads, Kate’s words penetrated my ears. A chilling coldness permeated her voice, making my knees weak just from hearing it.

Hurriedly regaining my senses, I saw Kate looking down at the attacker with a terrifying expression—anger, contempt, and disgust.

Even I felt a chill from her gaze; how much worse must it be for the attacker facing it directly?

Surprisingly, however, the man didn’t back down at all. On the contrary, he stared directly back at Kate with fierce eyes.

“God, bestow the protection of light upon this place.”

Kate offered a brief prayer while maintaining eye contact with the man. Golden light spread from her, surrounding us.

A golden shield made of holy power.

No one would be able to enter this space without her permission, and devil worshippers especially wouldn’t even be able to approach.

Sizzle-

“Aaaaargh!!”

Then an astonishing phenomenon occurred. Smoke began rising from the man inside the barrier.

Like meat sizzling on an oiled frying pan, the man was writhing and suffering in great pain.

As I wondered what was happening, Kate spoke in a cold voice, almost mockingly.

“As expected of a filthy devil worshipper. Your soul rejects the blessing bestowed by Luminus. You’re beyond salvation, you piece of trash.”

Devil worshippers are those who have sold their souls to devils or become corrupted in exchange. Naturally, they have a violent rejection reaction to holy power.

Moreover, Kate is a Cardinal, the natural enemy of beings like devil worshippers.

She can annihilate even souls through “holy fire” created with divine power, and even a simple barrier like this causes great pain to devil worshippers.

I watched the devil worshipper writhing in pain and carefully asked Kate.

“Kate. Is this person really…”

“Yes. A devil worshipper who targeted your life, Lord Issac.”

“What about the person who collapsed earlier?”

“There were signs of artificially induced cardiac arrest. This vermin probably did it.”

“How could…”

I was speechless with shock. To endanger someone’s life just to target me. What crime had that person committed?

While I was in shock, the devil worshipper continued to emit painful groans.

Though less smoke was coming out than before, the smell of burning flesh still invaded my nostrils.

“Urgh…!”

Eventually, as if getting used to it, the man slowly raised his head. His blue eyes burned like fierce flames.

Those eyes were filled with intense anger. Was that anger directed at me, or at something else?

But one thing was clear. This man had secretly infiltrated the academy and targeted my life.

Even if he hadn’t managed to take my life, he could have endangered me and those around me at some point.

And… all of this was due to my carelessness.

Thanks to this, I realized.

“…What will you do now?”

“This trash knowingly infiltrated the academy. There’s no information to gain by keeping him alive. So…”

“Summary execution.”

“Yes, that’s right. But for someone who fearlessly targeted you, Lord Issac, I won’t let him die easily. I’ll definitely take him alive to the church and make him experience every pain a human can endure.”

I could only gulp at Kate’s terrifying response.

Usually she’s constantly looking for opportunities to extract my seed, but now anyone would agree she fits the role of Grand Inquisitor.

The devil worshipper seemed to feel the same way, as he looked at Kate while sweating profusely.

Meeting his eyes once more, Kate merely gave him a “what are you going to do about it” expression, nothing more and nothing less. Literally the look of someone staring at a bug they could crush at any moment.

At this, the devil worshipper gritted his teeth and shouted with a determined face.

“For the Father of All Things!!”

With those words, he opened his mouth wide as if intending to bite his tongue, but.

Crack!!

“Argh!!”

Kate kicked his mouth hard, foiling his attempt. Blood-stained white corn-like objects fell from his mouth.

All his teeth were broken with one kick. I frowned as I watched the scene in real-time.

In my previous life, I had seen cruel scenes through various media including movies, but watching it in real-time was a first. Naturally, I felt repulsed.

“How unfortunate. You can’t end your life easily. Well, even if you bit your tongue, I would have revived you anyway.”

“Ugh… ugh…”

“What should we do now?”

Adelia, who had been subduing the devil worshipper all this time, asked Kate.

She was putting her full weight on him to prevent him from doing anything else.

“We’ll have to wait until the security guards arrive. The patient who collapsed from cardiac arrest is stable now, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“Understood.”

“And… Lord Issac.”

“Yes?”

I flinched at Kate’s call and looked at her. Unlike when dealing with the devil worshipper, she spoke with a bright expression.

“We should thank whoever shot that arrow. If it weren’t for them, we could have been in real danger.”

“…Yes.”

“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

“That’s a relief. That you’re not hurt.”

Right. I wouldn’t have been hurt. Even though I was distracted, Adelia would have noticed immediately.

But then she would have been hurt. In the worst case, she might have lost her life.

‘Too…’

Pathetic. I let my guard down after just a week.

Devil worshippers aren’t a distant fairy tale. Did I think I was safe because I was in the eye of the storm?

What’s the point of being in the eye when everything around is being destroyed? Besides, even the eye of the storm isn’t safe.

I sighed as I looked at the devil worshipper who was bleeding profusely from his mouth.

From today, I realized that I am never safe.

On the contrary, I am essentially a walking hazard.

‘But what did he just say? Father of All Things?’

Do devil worshippers have something going on too?

******

Meanwhile, around the same time. At the top of a cherry blossom tree stretching high along the walkway.

“That makes the second one.”

Gartz, the man who had been watching Issac from a distance, muttered quietly as he loaded his crossbow.

It had been dangerous when everyone was distracted by the man who suddenly collapsed from cardiac arrest, but fortunately, he had taken action first, allowing them to escape the crisis.

At first, he thought the collapsed man might be attempting a suicide bombing, but that wasn’t the case at all. He was bait, and a filthy devil worshipper was stealthily approaching from behind.

‘You should be more careful.’

Issac probably didn’t know, but the devil worshippers who had targeted him so far weren’t just one, but two.

One was the devil worshipper now being dragged away in restraints, and the other was an academy staff member.

He wasn’t planning to target Issac directly but intended to poison his tea during the previous meeting with the chancellor.

‘That was really dangerous.’

Thankfully, they had noticed it first and prevented it. According to reports, the poison was added when the chancellor left to greet Issac.

Afterward, the staff member—or rather, the devil worshipper—was processed as having resigned urgently due to personal reasons, but one could guess what actually happened without being told.

‘If I tell him about today’s incident too, will he give me back my signed copy?’

Gartz still hadn’t received his signed copy.