Ch.95Chapter 95. Of All Things (4)

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll have to go check it out.”

Professor Amillion nodded at my words as if she had expected this answer.

The information I discovered and what Professor Amillion heard from her friend were almost identical.

I had hoped Professor Amillion might have learned more through her conversation with her friend, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

There wasn’t much added beyond the level of information I had secretly overheard.

“I wonder if we can go by ourselves.”

Professor Amillion muttered while giving me a concerned once-over.

“Since it’s a scene where the incident is already over, there shouldn’t be any danger. Let’s go together with the others.”

“…Alright. I’ll tell Elizar to come with us.”

“Sounds good.”

“By the way, did you find out anything?”

Professor Amillion was treating me quite comfortably now.

At first, she was somewhat uncomfortable with the fact that I wasn’t a student but rather Yuria’s subordinate.

“Nothing special. Just the location of the incident and that Commander Ordin was there too.”

“Hmm. About the same level of information.”

“They probably found out something more in O’Neil.”

“Really? How do you know?”

“Well…”

I hesitated for a moment at Professor Amillion’s question, unsure what to say.

During our final visit to the Knights Order, when I entered Commander Ordin’s office, I witnessed an unexpected scene.

While Ordin had clearly been consumed by a sense of defeat during the day, he was different at night.

More precisely, he was different when talking to that person.

I didn’t know who the other person was, but Commander Ordin’s eyes were gleaming as he spoke with some man.

He wasn’t a knight consumed by defeat, but rather a knight sharpening his sword for revenge.

And the content of their conversation was concerning.

Words like ‘hideout,’ ‘attack,’ and ‘reinforcements’ were thrown around—suspicious terms by anyone’s standards.

It would have been better if I could have eavesdropped on their conversation from closer, but unfortunately, that failed.

Still, discovering that they had found something in O’Neil was a significant gain in itself.

“I overheard Commander Ordin talking.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I think he found the enemy’s hideout. But I need to look into it more for details.”

“…”

Professor Amillion slowly nodded.

Then, after hesitating, she continued.

“By the way.”

“Yes?”

“That video.”

“Video?”

“You know, the Black Shadow Corps commander video.”

“Ah.”

My heart sank for a moment.

If I had been prepared for this, it might have been different, but being suddenly confronted with this topic after discussing something completely different was startling.

“Is Yuria working with the Black Shadow Corps by any chance?”

“Uh…”

This time I truly hesitated about what to say.

Professor Amillion was looking at me with anxious eyes.

“What did Yuria say about it?”

“I asked, but she didn’t really say anything.”

“Hmm. Then you should ask Yuria.”

“But it’s so obvious. The day after that video was taken, Yuria captured the black mage Nigel, saying he was one of those who remained at the academy.”

“Oh.”

“If Yuria is working with the Black Shadow Corps…”

“What if she is?”

Professor Amillion’s words were completely accurate.

Yuria wasn’t just working with the Black Shadow Corps.

She was a member of the Black Shadow Corps and a core figure as the captain of the 4th Division.

‘Our image isn’t great though.’

I could tell just by her expression.

Professor Amillion didn’t have a very good opinion of the Black Shadow Corps.

If she found out Yuria was related to the Black Shadow Corps, she might stop cooperating with her.

“…We should trust Yuria.”

“What?”

“If it’s an organization Yuria has decided to work with, shouldn’t it be trustworthy?”

“…”

I was momentarily speechless at this unexpected response.

This person’s trust in Yuria runs surprisingly deep.

“And from what I’ve looked into, the Black Shadow Corps isn’t as bad an organization as people think.”

“Huh, really?”

“Yes. They’re infamous for stealing the Dragon Heart, but they actually follow a certain code.”

‘Is that so?’

I couldn’t help but tilt my head at Professor Amillion’s words.

Of course, I had told Addy not to accept missions that were too inhumane or immoral.

Nevertheless, most of our missions involved theft, infiltration, stalking, and other activities that were far from honorable.

“Anyway, it’s certain that the Black Shadow Corps commander caught Landgar’s group.”

“Well, that…”

The truth is that the undead beside him was the Black Shadow Corps commander’s pet, but I kept that to myself.

Professor Amillion seemed convinced that Yuria was connected to the Black Shadow Corps.

Well, it would be stranger not to make that connection.

‘I don’t even know anymore.’

“So Ryu, are you working with the Black Shadow Corps too?”

“What?”

Pure curiosity bloomed on Professor Amillion’s face.

I thought I’d gotten a breather after leaving the Empire where the Black Shadow Corps search was underway, but clearly I couldn’t let my guard down.

“Ah, no! Hahaha.”

I needed to deny it as naturally as possible.

**

“Haaaaaah.”

Ordin deliberately exhaled loudly as he fidgeted with the sword placed on his desk.

As he handled the familiar sword grip, memories he didn’t want to recall surfaced again.

The terrible incident that happened not long ago.

Grip-

Ordin tightly closed his eyes and gripped the sword with all his might.

Ordin’s hand holding the sword was trembling slightly.

The reasons for his uncontrollable trembling were complex.

Anger at himself for not being able to do anything.

The humiliation of having to leave while his subordinates died one by one.

And fear.

‘Haaa.’

Ordin put down the sword with his trembling hand.

Throughout his years of learning swordsmanship and fighting countless battles, Ordin had encountered numerous walls.

There were countless swordsmen stronger than him, and he had faced countless crises.

But no matter how difficult or precarious the situation, Ordin had never felt fear.

Especially not such a primal fear as this.

“Damn it.”

Ordin muttered quietly as he rose from his seat.

He simply couldn’t sit still.

His head was telling him to grab his sword right now and storm the enemy hideout found by the kingdom’s investigation team, but his heart said otherwise.

Could he win if he faced that person again in his current state?

Far from avenging his subordinates, wouldn’t he just create more sacrifices and join his men?

What had annihilated O’Neil Kingdom’s pride, the “Silver Eagles,” without leaving a single survivor, wasn’t an army of thousands or tens of thousands.

It was just one person.

A single opponent wrapped in a white robe from head to toe, emitting an eerie energy.

The opponent who boldly appeared alone before the knights used magic Ordin had never seen before.

Now Ordin knew it was black magic, but at the time, he had no chance to think.

The opponent used only one spell.

Ordin still remembered the scene vividly.

The unpleasant flow of mana emanating from the man in the white robe.

The black mist spreading faster than the wind as the man extended his hand.

And finally, the knights collapsing, coughing up blood.

Even in that situation, Ordin had calmly rushed toward the opponent.

Thinking it was better to eliminate the enemy than to try to save his subordinates right away.

But the result wasn’t good.

The man in the white robe made no preparations even as Ordin rushed quickly toward him.

He simply raised his head and met Ordin’s eyes.

And when their eyes met, Ordin froze instantly.

Yellow glowing eyes and behind them, a massive white snake.

Though it didn’t physically exist, he clearly felt it.

The eyes of a snake flicking its long tongue.

Ordin thought he would die if he moved even slightly from that spot.

It was an instinctive fear, felt as an animal before a human.

While Ordin stood frozen, a massacre occurred behind him.

His subordinates, enveloped in the mist, collapsed coughing blood without being able to properly resist.

Ordin could only watch.

After the mist swept through, most of the knights were already lying on the ground.

Only a few knights who were proficient in magic or possessed magic-resistant artifacts managed to hold out.

They were the elite among the Silver Eagles.

Just as they were about to charge with rage-filled eyes, the snake moved.

It retracted its flickering tongue and opened its mouth wide.

The massive fangs of the giant snake gleamed sharply, and when the snake closed its mouth, everything ended.

Black holes appeared beneath the feet of the surviving knights, and sharp spikes shot up from below.

And what happened after that, he didn’t want to think about.

Ordin couldn’t move properly even as he witnessed the scene.

As if under a petrification spell, no matter how hard he tried to move, he couldn’t.

With all knights except himself annihilated, Ordin thought it was the end for him too.

Dying at the hands of an unknown enemy, for unknown reasons.

But Ordin survived.

More precisely, he was “allowed to live.”

‘I must overcome this.’

“Nngh!”

Though Ordin trembled with fear at the mere recollection, he tried to steel himself somehow.

If he, the Grand Commander, cowered like this, who could properly face that person?

‘But…’

Even as he thought this, Ordin’s resolve soon faltered.

And soon, a deep sense of defeat filled his mind.

The thought that defeating that person with their current strength was impossible.

Steeling himself was not an easy task.