TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 196
After the duel ended.
Mikhail was reflecting on his mistakes in the darkness.
-Stop it, Senior.
At that moment, he clenched his fist, thinking that if he had swung his sword just a little faster, the outcome might have been different.
It was a battle where much was gained.
From achieving explosive growth in a short time to meeting the Empire’s most outstanding Sword Master, for Mikhail, it was a battle with nothing to lose.
For Mikhail, this battle carried no penalties to bear. Perhaps, in this battle, the one who benefited the most wasn’t Hanna but Mikhail, to the point where there was nothing to regret.
However, Mikhail confined himself in the darkness and pushed himself relentlessly.
“Why did I do that? Why on earth…!”
“If I had focused from the beginning, I could have won. If I had avoided minor attacks and stayed calm, I wouldn’t have lost.”
“Why… why…”
Mikhail was filled with resentment.
It wasn’t because of the petty reason of losing to a junior.
He was angry because he failed to see the past he hadn’t noticed and couldn’t confirm that child’s survival. He had lost due to his own shortcomings.
Mikhail was desperate.
He had desperately begged Ricardo to the point of kneeling for the survival of his friend named Lee Minhyuk. He didn’t care what happened to his own body; he just wanted to win, no matter what.
But Ricardo, unaware of his complicated feelings, had spoken coldly.
-You know, don’t you? That you can’t win with that body.
The gap in skill was something he understood better through experience.
He knew that Hanna was stronger than him. That’s why it was even more frustrating. He had grown and worked hard, just as much as Devotee Hanna.
If he hadn’t been careless, if he had paid more attention to minor wounds, the outcome might have been different. He hated his own incompetence so much.
“Please…”
Mikhail pleaded.
“Please, just give me one more chance.”
He begged to redo the quest he couldn’t complete, saying he’d do anything if only he were given that chance.
But the quest wasn’t appearing before him. All he could see now was the impenetrable darkness obscuring his vision. Mikhail was soothing his aching heart by pounding on his chest.
“Please…”
Mikhail’s Darkness was long.
*
Late at night, at the Magic Department’s training grounds.
“Damn it…!”
Alone in the training grounds, Ruin cursed as he looked at the unyielding Scarecrow Target.
“Why is this happening….”
The Scarecrow Target, which had been hit by Ruin’s Magic, stood firmly in place with only slight scorch marks. Ruin created magic in his hand and fired again at the Scarecrow, but nothing changed.
“Damn it…! Damn it…! Damn it…!”
Ever since Hans had stolen his talent, darkness had descended upon Ruin.
“Why isn’t it working!”
“Why! Why isn’t it working!”
“Damn it. It worked fine before. Why is this happening!”
The ability that had once made him shine, the one he thought would never disappear, was now gone. Ruin was being treated as useless, a mere husk.
At this rate, it was certain he would remain in the lower ranks during the upcoming Ranking Battle.
He had always dismissed those in the lower ranks, telling them not to even try if they had no talent, and now it was clear that he would face the ridicule, contempt, and scorn he had once dished out.
“Damn it!”
Frustrated by the unresolved issues, Ruin threw the water bottle he had been drinking from onto the ground.
With a loud ‘thud!’ the bottle cracked, spilling water. Watching the flowing water, Ruin gritted his teeth.
Everything was falling apart.
His relationship with Yuria.
His Magic.
His friendships—nothing was going well.
The sudden downfall that had come upon him was too heavy for Ruin to bear.
The Tower Master had said they would look for a solution, but Ruin knew it wouldn’t happen immediately, so he couldn’t hold onto hope.
Until now, Ruin had deluded himself into thinking he was extraordinary. He mistakenly believed that even without a Unique Ability, he could achieve better results than others with his intellect and skills.
“What kind of end-of-the-century genius am I? I can’t even cast a proper Fireball right now.”
Except for one person, that is.
Ruin clenched his fist and lowered his head, recalling past memories.
-I’ll crush you today.
-You’re noisy. Can you be quiet?
-Today, I’ll beat you and take the top rank…
-Shut up.
A Wizard with black hair.
A woman with a violent personality who looked down on everyone—Ruin had thought she was the first Wizard he could never defeat.
The Tower Master had at least given him the dream of catching up in the future, but she was a prodigy of the same age as him.
Ruin still remembers.
The day he was defeated by the Summoned Creature she had created. He couldn’t even handle a creature that had only manifested one arm, and on that day, Ruin couldn’t even properly look at her face.
It was overwhelming talent.
Her background.
Her Total Mana Capacity.
And her Magical Talent—she was playing in a realm Ruin couldn’t even imagine.
He never wanted to feel that way again, to feel that helplessness of being unable to do anything. Yet, Ruin was frustrated and resentful, thinking he might soon feel that way again toward someone he had once looked down on.
“Why is everyone being so damn unfair to me?”
Ruin muttered as he faced the quiet night breeze.
“I’ve lived a hard life too. Why can’t they just leave me alone?”
He vented his frustration into the wind, continuously casting magic. He pushed himself relentlessly, whipping himself in hopes of regaining his former honor.
As one hour, then two hours passed, and Ruin’s Mana was nearly depleted.
Ruin let out an Empty Laugh as he looked at the fallen Scarecrow Target.
“Damn it.”
There’s no answer.
Darkness was creeping into Ruin.
A darkness he couldn’t resolve on his own was gradually eating away at him.
*
At the same time.
At the Young Lady’s Estate, having returned, I poured tea for the Man sitting across from me with a Pleasant Smile.
“Drink.”
“This is Holy Water.”
“Shut up and drink.”
Hans looked at the tea I had poured with a devout expression and offered a prayer.
“Thank you for providing today’s daily bread.”
Seeing Hans praying with his hands clasped made my face heat up, but I smiled and offered him a brief word of thanks for all his hard work.
While we were away, Hans had taken charge of the estate’s security.
“Thank you for your efforts, Hans.”
“Isn’t protecting the Sacred Battle the duty of a Devotee?”
“Have you decided to adopt the Fanatic Devotee persona now?”
“I’m not a Fanatic Devotee. The god I believe in might be indifferent, but they do grant me benefits.”
“Sigh…”
I shook my head and closed my mouth.
I felt that talking about this any further might drive me mad, so I decided it was more important to ask about what had happened in our absence. I carefully set down my teacup and spoke.
“Did you feed Gomtangi’s Food well?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Did anyone come by while I was away?”
“No one.”
“That’s a relief.”
There hadn’t been any particular incidents. I had worried that a Thief might break in while I was away, but it seemed the Villainess’s Mansion still wasn’t a popular target.
Thanks to the Young Lady’s name, the mansion was safe. It seemed the Young Lady was truly someone the world couldn’t easily handle.
While chatting about trivial matters with Hans for a while, I threw him a small question.
“Is the Academy Brainwashing progressing well?”
“What?”
“Not you, Hans. I mean the others. The Heretics who infiltrated the Academy.”
At the mention of the past, Hans clamped his mouth shut. It must have been difficult for him to speak about a past that wasn’t clean.
However, since this was one of the reasons I had made Hans my person, I asked him with a Small Smile.
“Isn’t that right?”
“Haha… You really know everything. Just who are you….”
“Shh. You just need to tell me.”
“Understood.”
Seeing Hans nod in agreement, I lifted my teacup with a satisfied expression.
Hans carefully touched his teacup and began to speak cautiously.
“As far as I know, recruitment wasn’t progressing well in the Academy. The vigilance had increased, and the students had a strong sense of responsibility to report anything suspicious.”
“That’s certainly true. But you’re saying it’s still progressing, correct?”
“Yes. Though they haven’t managed to recruit even one person yet.”
“Hmm…”
Having read the Novel, I already knew.
How this story would unfold.
I had asked out of simple curiosity, not because I wanted to hear the Outcome. Recruitment of the Heretics hadn’t progressed.
And so, one event would occur.
One of the Archbishops who had infiltrated the Academy would be caught by the students.
It was a simple matter.
They would try to uncover a student’s weakness and whisper deceitful words, only to end up being caught.
Coincidentally, the Ranking Tournament was approaching, and the Archbishop would act during that time, only to be caught immediately. Thankfully, there would be no casualties.
Of course, there would still be many injuries.
I planned to leave this matter entirely to the Protagonists this time.
They needed the experience of facing the Heretics without my interference at least once. Although it was harsh, I intended to give them some painful Hardships.
Mikhail had grown.
Yuria had also grown, and their opponent was someone they could at least put up a fight against. Of course, they wouldn’t win, but just like in the Novel, they would manage with the help of the Master of the Magic Tower. Through that process, Ruin would grow as well.
As I sipped my tea with a Small Smile, Hans carefully asked me a question.
“Excuse me, may I ask you something?”
“Yes. You may ask two things if you’d like.”
“Aren’t you worried that Ruin might learn Dark Magic? It seems dangerous if he does.”
I chuckled lightly and responded to Hans with certainty.
“He can’t.”
“What?”
“Ruin can’t learn Dark Magic.”
“What do you mean… Didn’t you say last time that his Pride would prevent him from learning it?”
As I set down my emptied teacup, I dismissed Hans’s concerns.
“No, that was just something I said back then. This time, I’m talking about a fundamental reason.”
With a smile, I added a sugar cube to Hans’s teacup.
“Ruin’s body simply isn’t capable of learning Dark Magic.”
I spoke with a sly smile.
“Because I made it that way.”
When taking something away, it’s important to eliminate any future trouble.
If he ever tried to touch Dark Magic, I figured he’d suffer a significant mental shock.
After all, if he tried to Fall to Darkness but was rejected even by that…
I decided to stop my thoughts there.