Chapter 1256

< 1256th Chapter > 1256. Dark Moon

In the office, I dragged a chair out and sat in the hallway. In front of me were piles of bodies, and behind me was the direction leading to the bathhouse. Since this is a one-way route, if I hold my ground here, no one can go back without my permission.

As I stared at Soap’s head, I fell into thought for a moment.

When I killed Soap, there was a fleeting sense of satisfaction and relief. Even now, as I look at Soap’s head, that feeling remains. But it wasn’t enough. It felt like taking a shower but not bothering to dry off properly afterward.

“I know the reason. My revenge isn’t finished yet.”

Soap was just a mid-level manager.

The person who planned and executed the Battle Mage Project is someone else entirely—someone so high-ranking it’s embarrassing to compare them to Soap. And I know one of them.

Alpha Tear Pharmaceuticals. The company that manufactured mana serum and supplied it to the military. They’re on my revenge list.

I couldn’t recklessly charge in and kill them all. At my current state, going after Alpha Tear would only result in me being crushed like a bug.

“Need more power. To take on Alpha Tear alone, I’ll need to reach at least Level 9… If I mess with Alpha Tear directly, the Freesell Kingdom will likely intervene…”

A sigh escaped me involuntarily.

I’m starting to doubt whether I can complete this revenge. But there’s no way I can be satisfied with what I’ve done so far and call it quits. I will find those involved in the Battle Mage Project and exact my vengeance.

After glaring at Soap’s head for a long time, I closed my eyes.

The effects of [Overload] had worn off, and intense fatigue and pain were flooding over me all at once. Worse still, my mana cores were damaged.

Out of 50, only 34 are intact. The remaining 16 are destroyed beyond repair without external help. To fix these 16 damaged mana cores, I’ll need to seek out a specialized healer.

“Troubling. Looks like I can’t sustain a prolonged fight like this.”

Even a Grade 5 mage has over 80 mana cores. Mine don’t even reach half of that due to forcibly boosting myself to Grade 5 using drugs and overworking my mana cores with Overload.

“If I were an ordinary mage, I might have given up by now. But I have knowledge from the original story. I know of healers who can restore my mana cores, and I also know the locations of treasures hidden in this world and how to obtain them. This situation isn’t hopeless for me—it just requires some time.”

With another sigh, I reflected on everything that needed doing…


From the beginning, I wasn’t sure what to do.

Thud thud.

I opened my eyes at the sound of footsteps. There was no one in front of me. Slowly, I turned my head back and there stood Number 31 in her military uniform. Her purple hair was slightly damp, and as usual, her face remained expressionless.

Even though she’d been hit with sleep gas, she was moving this fast? I silently marveled, guessing it must be thanks to the witch’s blood within her.

“You killed Instructor Venus.”

“Yeah. It was super tough. 31, are you gonna kill me? Honestly, I don’t have the strength to fight you right now. If you’re gonna do it, make it quick.”

I said this while looking straight ahead. While dying at the hands of anyone else might’ve been bad, if I were to die by either 31 or 212, it wouldn’t be so terrible.

“…Remember the old days? Back when the Dark Moon appeared, when I lost control and fell off that waterfall? You saved me then. Consider that debt repaid now.”

There had been such a time.

“Should I thank you for sparing me?”

“That’s not what I mean. I never intended to kill you from the start. What I mean by repaying the debt… is that I’ll take responsibility for the rookies, including 212.”

Surprised, I turned to look at her. Number 31 stood with her arms crossed, wearing an arrogant expression as she looked at me.

If she could—if Lady Irina of the Reltius family could—then it was certainly something she was capable of. I felt a slight lightness in my heart.

“Thanks, 31.”

“There’s a condition. Battle Mage Project. Don’t disclose it to the world. Bury the Battle Mage Project.”

“It’s for the rookies. You don’t want them harassed by the media either, right?”

“…So I’m included among those rookies too, huh?”

If the Battle Mage Project were buried, the one who’d benefit most wouldn’t be 31—it would be me. As someone who killed their superior and was branded a rebel terrorist, there was no doubt a bounty would be placed on me. The Freesel army wouldn’t publicly disclose the Battle Mage Project either; doing so would invite international condemnation, and vulture-like human rights activists would come swarming to extract money.

“Thank you. If possible, I’ll try to make it happen. Since I’m not the one responsible for this matter, I can’t guarantee anything, but… the Battle Mage Project will not be disclosed to the world. Really, thank you, 31.”

“Irina.”

“Huh?”

“My name is Irina.”

She turned her body and began walking toward the bathhouse. Watching her disappearing back, I quickly called out.

“Irina! My name is Eugene!”

One week later.

Louise Vilshstein came to my hideout. By the way, the current hideout I’m staying in was prepared by him. It’s located in some remote village on the outskirts of the Freesel Kingdom.

“You look much better than the last time we met. That’s good news.”

“How did things go?”

“They went as you wished. We negotiated with the Freesel Army, and they agreed to bury the Battle Mage Project. Ah, all your fellow recruits have been placed under the command of Number 31, Irina Reltius. Naturally, the army tried to resist, but… Lord Reltius exerted his influence.”

“Good to hear everything worked out. What about the pursuit for me?”

“There hasn’t been any reaction yet. But that doesn’t mean we can relax. It’s possible Freesel Kingdom’s special agents are still operating secretly.”

“Yeah. Guess it’s best if I leave this country.”

As if waiting for this moment, Louise spoke.

“Come to our empire. We’ll provide you with identification and even a nice mansion. In exchange, you’ll work for our company.”


“Please come work for us.”

“That story you’ve told before. I’m not going to the Empire.”

“I still don’t understand why. The conditions aren’t bad, are they? Even the Freesell Kingdom doesn’t dare to mess with the Haist Empire lightly.”

“Not just the Empire—no other country can be trifled with either. The Empire’s military might is too strong. Armies are annoying as hell. Plus, the Kaiser is currently purging rebels—I don’t want to get caught up in that if I go there.”

Louise handed me a bag. I opened it and inspected its contents: seven Darkholes in glass vials, one account card, a first-class ticket to Neo London, and a third-class citizenship certificate for Neo London.

“Shame. But why did you choose Neo London?”

“Haphael Republic… I killed quite a few of their soldiers there. They’d target me the moment I step foot inside. Divine France might be even more peaceful than Neo London, but anything involving religion gives me the creeps. As for the other countries, they’re heavily influenced by the Freesell Kingdom, so they’re not safe.”

“So you chose Neo London by process of elimination.”

I synced the account to my watch and checked the balance.

“Why is there only 50 million credits?”

“The money was spent on acquiring those Darkholes in the bag—200 million credits. Then 600 million went toward buying Playlord drugs last time, and another 300 million was used to completely cryopreserve Venus’s head. On top of that, Eugene’s ID, train fare, safehouse rental fees, etc., were deducted. What’s left is 50 million credits. Originally, it was only 4,757 credits, but I threw in a little extra out of kindness.”

“…Your accounting is disturbingly precise.”

“Hehe. That’s a great compliment for a businessman. Oh, regarding the citizenship card, I arbitrarily picked the surname.”

“Eugene Meyer. Not bad.”

“I thought about putting Adolf, but it seemed like you wouldn’t like that. So I went with something neutral.”

“If you had put Adolf, I would’ve thrown the ID at your face.”

I stood up from my seat.

“Leaving already?”

“There’s nothing else to do here if I stay longer.”

I packed clothes and necessities into the bag. Since I didn’t own much, packing took only five minutes.

“Louise, do you believe in past lives?”

“Out of nowhere with this past life talk? I don’t know much about religion or myths.”

“It’s not that. I keep dreaming of memories from past lives. Surprisingly, I seem to have more than one.”

“Haha, really? Were you a noble in your past life?”

“…How did you guess? I was the child of a baron in my past life.”

“Ho? What was the family name? Let me look into it.”

“Well, it got blurry after I woke up.”

“This is some pretty useless conversation for a farewell. If you need my help later, let me know. I’ll assist you.”

“Free of charge?”

“In my dictionary, there’s such a thing as service, but no such thing as free.”

I put on the Infi-Mask before leaving. I plan to take it off once I arrive in Neo London.

“I’m off.”

“Isn’t that a bit lacking in courtesy for a goodbye?”

“We’re not exactly on terms where we exchange polite goodbyes.”

“How cold-hearted. Well, take care. My gut tells me we’ll meet again someday.”

Without responding, I waved my hand and walked out.