episode_0018

Marzita bit her nails.

She replayed the scene she had just witnessed in her mind.

“Emil touched him. The opponent foamed at the mouth and fell.”

Emil was involved in the senior’s death.

“Poison? Or his ability?”

She didn’t know how Emil could have killed the senior.

All she could guess was that he had the power to kill his opponents with just a touch.

“Death always followed wherever he went.

It’s certain. Everyone who died around him was actually killed by him.”

Aeris, the Pope, and Teacher Eric.

She didn’t think Teacher Eric used a self-sacrifice spell.

When she investigated, she realized he was not the type to sacrifice himself for others.

The Pope was the same. He was not a selfless person.

“Wasn’t it actually him who killed Rich?”

It was possible that Rich was actually killed by him.

She acknowledged the skill of the Imperial Knight Commander, Deikard.

But he didn’t have the power to kill Rich.

The missing piece of the puzzle fit perfectly.

“How did he gain such power?”

Her instincts told her it was not a good thing.

But duty suppressed her instincts.

“It’s what nobles should do.”

Noblesse Oblige.

Since she was ten years old, she had engraved the vow deep in her heart.

If he killed them with evil intentions, she had to step in and stop him.

But she suspected there was another motive since he had intervened to protect Rich.

Emil’s carriage approached.

She hid her body.

As the carriage passed, she let out the breath she had been holding.

“I’ll have to follow you next week as well.”

She turned her body.

But she didn’t know. She had dropped the brooch that had been hanging on her chest without her noticing.

*

He sent four humans, including Atrehan.

They were elders who had played a role in the future that ended in destruction.

Wearing the Transformation Sword, I stealthily approached and killed them.

I didn’t give them time to utter their last words.

Question and answer dance. As soon as I touched their bodies, I took their lives.

“It can’t be helped. If the gods want their deaths, what can I do.”

I rationalized.

The more people I killed and the more blood I stained my hands with, the more scars were etched into my heart.

“Very good! Thanks to Emil, I’m starting to enjoy life these days.”

The gods laughed.

It was a wicked laugh befitting someone planning the destruction of the world.

“Still, I’ve gained a month. I should train hard during this spare time.”

I adapted to the training.

Should I train and improve my skills during the remaining time?

Lately, I’ve been feeling it.

If I stay like this, I’ll be eliminated from the Hero Academy.

I need to improve my skills as soon as possible.

“Let’s start by mastering Hermes’ Boots first.”

It was time to test the newly acquired relic.

First, I tested the ability to move through the air by stepping on it.

“By consuming mana… and feeling like stepping on air…”

I consumed mana.

I stepped into the air.

The sensation of floating in the air was quite fascinating.

I engraved the sensation into my legs and moved through the air.

“This is so much fun!”

It was fun.

I walked through the sky, enjoying training.

Crunch.

A sound was heard near the training ground.

My concentration was disrupted.

“Ah!”

I fell from the air.

Although I fell from a considerable height, I wasn’t injured.

“Who’s there? I’m sure I confirmed that there was no one here?”

When she entered the training ground, she made sure no one was there.

She didn’t want to show her training to others.

She didn’t want to receive suspicious glances for becoming a hero by chance when her skills were lacking.

“Marzita?”

The source of the sound was identified.

Marzita was hiding inside the training ground.

“Ahem, I apologize. I unintentionally observed your training.”

Marzita apologized and left the training ground.

“Oh, I’m going to be late. I need to hurry and move.”

Her sudden appearance caught me off guard.

Checking the time, I quickly left the training ground.

I need to hurry if I don’t want to be late for the first class after washing up.

“It won’t do. You all lack enthusiasm in your physical training.

Today, I’ll give you a brief change.”

As expected, the physical training class was approaching.

I barely completed the first week.

Although I finished the physical training just in time to avoid being late, today would be different.

“Today, with this.”

The Hermes Boots manifested in the form of a tattoo on me.

An artifact obtained at the cost of the lives of the ancients.

The artifact was practically equivalent to my own strength.

“If you’re jealous, then you guys should also run without magic.”

Using the Hermes Boots was nothing short of cheating.

But other guys were also using cheats.

To stand on the same level as the others without magic or running, I had to use the artifact.

“Release the week-long restraint.”

I will run with all my might.

I loosened up my body and stood at the starting line.

“Today, you just need to reach the destination autonomously as planned.”

“Start!”

I sprinted forward in response to Erina’s signal.

My body moved forward at a rapid pace.

Activating the Hermes Boots and giving it my all was a first.

The surrounding scenery quickly moved backward.

“Arrival!”

I arrived at the destination first.

It was a while later that the others arrived.

They were astonished at my different stamina from last week.

“Did you hide your strength?”

Marzita approached and asked.

“No. I have never hidden my strength. Last week, I was running with all my might. Without magic or running.”

I spread my arms and explained in detail why I didn’t use my strength last week.

I completed the race without magic.

Realizing my greatness, I became arrogant.

“Indeed… is that your training method?”

Marzita understood.

Now that she had realized my greatness, I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

I redeemed last week’s restraint this time.

I let out a satisfied laugh.

*

It was dawn. Marzita opened her eyes.

It was time to train.

She got up every day at dawn without fail and focused on training.

Her determination not to rely on gifts.

Only training could strengthen her.

“Emil? Why at this hour…”

At this time, the training ground was solely hers.

But today, an uninvited guest had come.

She hid her body.

It was a crucial opportunity to glimpse Emil’s skills.

“He’s amazing…”

And she saw it.

Emil’s true skills, that is.

Emil was walking in the air, leaving no trace of magic.

“It’s not magic.”

She didn’t feel any magic from Emil.

“I saw the end of the martial arts.”

The ultimate of martial arts that had been passed down as a legend.

He had stepped foot on the level reached only by those who achieved the ultimate of martial arts.

“How strong is he?”

She couldn’t guess. Emil’s power was beyond her imagination.

“Emil was right to kill those people.”

She wasn’t curious about how he reached that level at the same age as her.

She just wondered why he killed them.

From what she had observed, Emil was not an evil person.

If he was evil, he wouldn’t have fought against the Lich and risked his life.

“Was there a reason to kill them?”

Was there a reason to kill them, even shedding tears as the smoke cleared?

She had doubts. She needed to resolve them.

“Did you see? If I can do it, so can you.”

“Emil, you’re amazing. But why couldn’t you muster up the strength last week?”

“Uh, I was just feeling a bit off back then.”

“Really? You seemed to be running with all your might?”

Emil was in the middle of a conversation with Daphne.

She had been in a state of mourning since the death of Aeris the Great.

She had seemed so fragile, like she could die at any moment, but she had been recovering a lot lately.

It was all thanks to Emil taking care of her diligently.

“If Emil is the one who killed Aeris the Great, then what was the purpose of that action?”

It was a question that couldn’t be answered no matter how much she thought about it.

*

The leaders of the Truth Seekers were in a state of emergency.

Rich, who had been the de facto leader of the Truth Seekers, had died.

There was a tense atmosphere circulating within the organization.

It felt like something was about to explode at any moment.

And then, it happened.

Within two days, four members of the organization had died.

And they were all graduates of the Hero Academy.

Even if they were just low-ranking heroes, a hero was still a hero.

They possessed powers that ordinary people couldn’t comprehend.

And yet, they had lost their lives without even putting up a fight.

The method was the same every time.

Due to the nature of their missions, they spent a lot of time alone.

The perpetrator took advantage of this fact and struck when there was no one around.

The bodies were discovered by passersby by chance.

The cause of death was cardiac arrest.

They had cleanly killed the victims.

It wasn’t poison, magic, or anything like that.

Their hearts had simply stopped beating suddenly, as if struck by an illness.

As the investigation continued, a chilling sensation ran down their spines.

It felt like a grim reaper had come and gone.

If they didn’t know the circumstances, they would have thought that the four members had simply died from sudden illnesses.

“So what? What are you going to do about it? Even if the enemy is a god, find them! Find them!”

But even if the enemy was a god, they had to capture the culprit and seek revenge.

If they didn’t catch the culprit, the organization would appear weak.

“We found them.”

After tirelessly searching day and night, they finally found evidence.

One of the members pulled out a brooch from their pocket.

The brooch had a picture engraved on it.

A picture of a iron maiden with spikes on the inside.

The emblem on the brooch proved their identity.

“It’s the emblem of the Iron Maiden family. It was found near where Atrehan died.”

“The Iron Maiden… It seems that another noble family has put pressure on us.”

The leader bit their lip.

Their suspicions were confirmed. The consecutive deaths of their members were the result of pressure from another faction.

“Find out who it is immediately. No matter who they are, bring them to me half-dead!”

They had identified the enemy. Now they just needed to uncover their identity.