Chapter 23: Unknown

Hestia and Elisha ran towards the place where evil energy was thick.

Monsters that appeared before them all fell like autumn leaves before the Hero’s holy sword and the Regressor’s spear.

“Are you sure this is the right way?”

“The evil energy is getting thicker. I’m sure of it.”

Hestia didn’t know, but in truth, this incident was something Elisha had experienced countless times.

Following the direction where the evil energy grew thicker was correct, but even if she couldn’t feel it, she had the path memorized.

“Just a little further…. Look, doesn’t something feel strange around here?”

“Hmm…?”

As she said, the red aura mixed in the air created an unusual atmosphere.

“I’ve been wondering since earlier, what exactly is that? It doesn’t seem to be just evil energy……”

“It’s evil energy that accumulated over a long time and burst out all at once. It’s hard to call it a normal natural phenomenon.”

“That means…”

“Exactly. Someone did this intentionally.”

It was a hard story to believe.

There were two Transcendents in the academy, and one of them was even a member of the Great Pioneers.

The Academy Head could also exercise powerful authority within the academy, which was covered by a barrier.

What madman would dare to commit an act of terror in a place where two Transcendents resided?

It was something only a handful of lunatics would even dream of.

“I don’t understand. For what reason would such a strong individual target the academy?”

“First, let me tell you, the culprit is someone who can’t even hold a candle to the Academy Head. Certainly not a Transcendent.”

“……?”

“If the Academy Head’s body had been in normal condition, this would never have happened… It’s all because of that bastard……”

“…Isn’t there someone else?”

“You might not have been interested, but Paeren is currently absent.”

There were still unclear parts, but after hearing the explanation, she understood somewhat.

Curious about who caused the incident, Hestia asked Elisha, just in case.

“Elisha, do you know who the culprit is?”

“Kal Myers.”

“……?”

“You’ve never heard of him, right?”

“……Yes.”

Myers was a notable family, but only by ordinary people’s standards…

It was difficult to consider them top-tier within the academy, where promising talents from all over the world gathered.

Elisha thought that even though there was one person from the Myers family in the same class as Hestia, the probability of her remembering them was low.

“Myers… Myers……?”

Constantly repeating the word “Myers” and thinking deeply, Hestia suddenly spoke as if something had just occurred to her.

“……Now that I think about it, during the sparring match… there seemed to be a similar name right after mine.”

“Oh? What, you remembered? That Pascal guy you saw back then is also involved in this incident.”

“So… he’s from the same Myers family as this ‘Kal’ person?”

“They’re father and son. I don’t know the details, but…”

Given Elisha’s personality, which quickly lost interest once an incident was resolved safely, she wouldn’t deeply investigate the Myers family.

“But it’s a little strange……”

Elisha opened her mouth with a fresh smile.

“You remembered that sparring match? I thought you weren’t interested.”

“……?”

For a brief moment, Hestia thought she saw a chilling glint in Elisha’s eyes, but it was so fleeting that Hestia dismissed it as a mere illusion.

She recalled her first friend, whom she had been seeing less frequently lately.

At the time of the sparring match, he was her only friend, so she had unconsciously been paying attention to him.

Just as she was about to tell Elisha this honestly…

Suddenly, feeling an inexplicable sense of suffocation, she offered a different answer instead of her original one.

“Well… it was my turn right after, and it was a memorable match, so I remembered it.”

“Ah, right… It was a surprisingly memorable match, indeed.”

Even if she tried to recall it now, it was blurry, but Elisha had also felt something special watching that match, so she didn’t press Hestia further.

Hestia sighed inwardly, feeling a strange sense of relief.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to her, and she asked cautiously.

“Elisha… did you also find that sparring match memorable?”

“Huh? Ah, that’s true, but… I just focused because I wanted to watch it.”

“……”

Despite the answer implying it was nothing to worry about, various thoughts flashed through Hestia’s mind.

She chose the most probable answer among them and nodded inwardly.

‘Perhaps… it’s because of Pascal Myers, who is connected to this incident…’

Hestia silently watched Elisha’s back as she walked ahead with seemingly excited steps.

****

As Hestia and Elisha were approaching the core.

Pascal Myers was alone, guarding the activated core.

The evil energy was so thick that even the demonic beasts that emerged from the core avoided the area, but Pascal steadfastly guarded the spot.

“Cough…!”

Along with a cough, dark red blood trickled from between his lips.

He had thought that a born descendant of the Myers family, familiar with evil energy, would be able to endure, but he felt his body gradually nearing its limit.

He slumped down next to the red platform, sighing.

‘Is it… almost done……?’

The head of the family’s order to activate the core and sacrifice the dagger had long since been completed.

There was no longer any reason for him to remain here, and he had no intention of staying long either.

However, Pascal ultimately chose to remain here.

He couldn’t leave due to the variables that kept bothering him, so he held his ground.

The students who might become obstacles to his father’s plan…

The Hero, the Holy Maiden, and the girl with light blue hair.

And the one whose identity was unknown, whom he vaguely remembered…

Unless the Academy Head gave an order, those unpredictable students would clearly be more of a hindrance than the passive professors.

Pascal intended to risk his life to stop any of those students who appeared before him.

Although he was no match for them, he calculated that if he utilized the thick evil energy surrounding the core, he could lead the battle to a favorable ground.

‘This was a decision I made after much thought… Was it a useless endeavor…?’

But in the end, no one appeared before Pascal, and only the curse etched in his blood worsened.

“Ha, hahaha. How foolish……”

He let out a hollow laugh.

Had he been too bound by the single-minded devotion to his family? If only he had thought a little deeper…

Pascal deeply regretted his choice.

“Is this the right way?”

“We’re almost there.”

He quietly smiled, fully feeling the evil energy infiltrating his defenseless body.

Still…

‘It’s a relief that it wasn’t completely meaningless…’

Listening to the faint sounds of conversation from afar, he slowly crawled towards the core.

****

Suddenly overwhelmed by a headache, Hestia, who was walking behind Elisha, clutched her head.

“Ugh, this is……”

It was an unpleasant sensation, as if someone had entered her mind and was constantly whispering.

As she composed herself and took a deep breath, Elisha murmured softly beside her.

“A space filled with evil energy… Looks like we found the right place.”

Unlike Hestia, who was struggling to adapt, Elisha seemed completely unaffected.

To have mental strength superior to her own, a Hero, was beyond surprising—it was almost frightening.

“Elisha is……”

Just as Hestia, wanting to know more about her, opened her mouth.

*Crack!*

An ominous sound echoed throughout the entire forest.

A chilling sound, as if something was being crunched into tiny pieces…

Only then did Hestia realize that the widely spread evil energy around them had stiffened as if time had stopped.

“The evil energy……!”

She had seen this phenomenon before, through some skilled individuals.

This was someone of a high realm beginning to exert dominance over the area.

“He’s started to properly control it. Let’s hurry up a bit more.”

Elisha began to increase her running speed.

Hestia, sensing the gravity of the situation, also increased her speed, following Elisha.

As they advanced, along with the denser evil energy, the voices filled with the hatred and resentment of countless individuals also became clearer.

The two pushed through a space seemingly made of death, stopping where the scent of blood was strongest.

“……?!”

At the shocking sight that soon entered her vision, Hestia pressed her lips together.

All kinds of creatures lay dead, shriveled up.

As a Hero, she was used to seeing corpses, having dealt with many monsters, but she had almost never seen such a sight where an entire group had been drained of all life force.

“Is this… like a vampire appeared?”

“Well… in terms of sucking others’ blood, it’s similar.”

“……?”

The moment Hestia was about to ask for a more detailed explanation regarding Elisha’s meaningful words.

*Crunch!*

Again, the sound of something being crunched into tiny pieces echoed.

Hestia felt a chill run down her spine and, with animalistic instinct, rolled away just as…

*Boom!*

A gigantic dark red hand crashed down where she had been standing.

“Hestia! Get over here, quick!”

“Ugh…!”

At Elisha’s immediate command, she rolled her body once more.

*Crash!*

Again, a hand crashed down where she had been.

It was the same gigantic dark red hand as before.

Elisha ran to her side as she slowly got up.

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“Yes, I’m fine, but… what exactly is that……?”

“It’s evil energy materialized. It seems to have noticed we’re close.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than something massive emerged from a dark red mist.

A giant, its entire body painted dark red.

It was the giant’s arm that had attacked Hestia.

Unlike Hestia, who tried not to let her guard down due to the highly menacing appearance, Elisha remained calm, as if she had expected this.

“Get, out…!”

A groaning voice, like a moan, escaped the giant’s lips.

Only then, certain that its true identity was not merely a monster, Hestia asked Elisha.

“Surely, that’s not Kal Myers, is it?”

“No, he hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Huh? Then…?”

“Pascal Myers. He’s Kal’s son, whom I mentioned earlier. He was just used by his father and ended up like that.”

A giant with dark red skin, evil energy flowing throughout its entire body.

He seemed much stronger than when Hestia saw him during the sparring match, but for some reason, a powerful aura of a curse could be felt.

Elisha walked past Hestia, who was intently observing Pascal, now a giant.

“I have no intention of dragging this out. There’s someone else we need to deal with besides him…”

She gripped her spear tightly and spoke firmly, looking at Hestia.

“So, we need to finish this quickly and rest, even if it’s just for a moment.”

“…Understood.”

No sooner had she finished her reply than Elisha charged at the dark red giant.