Episode 154. The Case of the Missing Candidates (8)

‘An Artificial Holy Mark.’

As I listened to Professor Jade and Senior Sophia’s conversation, I recalled memories from my past life.

‘Professor Jade abandoned his research on Artificial Holy Marks in his past life.’

But was it just the Artificial Holy Marks he gave up on?

He even gave up on his own life.

But.

‘It changed.’

I don’t know what triggered it, but he decided to continue his research again.

In a life filled with despair, he dreamed of hope.

‘And someone took advantage of that hope.’

The unpleasant sense of unease I had been feeling since earlier.

I could now realize its true nature.

“So, it was that ‘snake’ who manipulated the professor, huh?”

I pointed to a bush and flicked my hand lightly.

Whoosh!

Fierce flames erupted, burning the trees.

Sssss.

A pure white snake slithered out from the trees.

The snake stared at me with sinister eyes before transforming into a woman with white hair.

“Oh my~ How did you know I was here?”

The white-haired woman looked at me with an intrigued expression.

I shrugged and replied.

“Because there’s been a rotten stench coming from over there since earlier.”

“My, calling a young lady a rotten stench, isn’t that a bit harsh?”

“Young lady? Please.”

I swallowed a chuckle as I looked at the white-haired woman.

I’m not sure if I should call this fortunate, but I knew who she was.

‘The Archbishop of Corruption, Serpente.’

A subordinate of Mephisto, the Archbishop of Corruption, and a mine who acted behind the scenes of countless incidents across the continent, rarely revealing herself.

“Hmm. Judging by that look, it seems you know who I am?”

Serpente crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

She looked me up and down, flicking her long, snake-like tongue.

“Dale Han… Just as Mephisto-sama said.”

Serpente muttered my name, nodding as if she already knew about me.

Her cautious expression turned into a sly smile.

“But it’s already too late. The descendant of the Great Sage has already heard my ‘whisper.'”

The Blessing of Whisper.

A mental-type blessing that incites the target’s ‘hope’ to manipulate their actions.

“Now, Professor?”

Serpente turned to Professor Jade with a smirk.

“Huff, huff.”

Professor Jade was gasping for breath, his eyes bloodshot, with a dark Holy Mark glowing on his right chest.

Serpente whispered to him.

“It’s time to eliminate the obstacle standing in the way of your dream.”

The sweet whisper reached his ears.

Professor Jade’s bloodshot eyes turned toward me.

His hands formed a seal in the air.

Crackle!

A geometric pattern unfolded in the air, glowing with a beautiful, jewel-like light, now tainted with a dark, ominous hue.

“Bloom.”

The interconnected geometric patterns bloomed like a flower.

The magic power surged incomparably.

A barrage of light surged toward me like a tidal wave.

“Danger!”

Senior Sophia, pale-faced, shouted at me as she realized the power of the magic Professor Jade had unleashed.

As she said, the magic Professor Jade had cast was imbued with an unimaginable force.

“Burn.”

Whoosh!

Flames engulfed my body.

I swung my sword toward the oncoming dark blue light.

Ash Fire Sword 1st Form, Variation.

Ash Extinction – Wave.

Boom!

The gray aura split into dozens of waves, shattering the dark blue light.

“Bloom.”

But it was only for a moment.

With a low incantation, the dark blue light surged again.

I frowned as I watched the pattern continuously spewing light.

‘What kind of principle is this?’

The pattern was like a finely crafted machine, continuously generating attacks.

“Haap!”

Ash Fire Sword 2nd Form.

Blazing Blade.

Even when I created a flame blade from a distance and shot it, as I got closer to the pattern, it twisted and flew off in the wrong direction.

‘It’s both continuously attacking from a distance and defending at the same time.’

Truly, a cheat-like magic worthy of the title ‘Descendant of the Great Sage.’

‘But.’

I held a power within my heart that was incomparably more cheat-like.

“Burn.”

Whoosh!

The flames engulfing my body intensified, swirling with gray smoke.

With my entire body wrapped in flames, I charged toward Professor Jade.

Whoosh!

Dark blue light surged from all directions.

I twisted my lips fiercely and thrust my sword.

Ash Fire Sword 3rd Form.

Blazing Halberd.

The dark blue light raining down from all directions was greedily absorbed, forming a gray fireball at the tip of my sword.

The sphere of burning ash fire shot toward the barrier created by Professor Jade.

And.

Boom!

An explosion loud enough to make my ears ring.

The surrounding trees and rocks were flung away like ants caught in a typhoon.

The pattern created by Professor Jade shattered into pieces, scattering into the air.

“Cough!”

Professor Jade coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered back.

“What is this…?”

Serpente looked at me in shock, unable to believe that the ‘Descendant of the Great Sage,’ Professor Jade, who had gained even greater power through the Artificial Holy Mark, could be so easily overwhelmed.

‘This can’t be.’

With trembling eyes, she looked at me, taking advantage of the brief lull after I used a powerful technique to whisper to Professor Jade again.

“Professor? It might be wise to capture another candidate as a hostage here.”

The sweet whisper echoed in his ears again.

Professor Jade’s gaze turned toward Sophia.

“Eek!”

Sophia, sensing danger, tried to step back, but Professor Jade’s seal drew a pattern in the air faster.

A much smaller pattern than before, glowing with dark blue light.

Whoosh!

“Danger!”

“Ahh!”

Berald pulled Sophia into his arms, shielding her with his back.

He braced for the impact, closing his eyes tightly.

“……?”

But the geometric patterns created by Professor Jade merely glowed with an ominous dark blue light, and nothing happened.

“What are you doing? Quickly, take a hostage!”

Serpente looked at me anxiously, then shouted at Professor Jade.

“…….”

Professor Jade’s hand, which had stopped, moved toward Sophia and Berald again.

But.

“Ah, uh.”

A low groan escaped Professor Jade’s lips.

Despite his bloodshot eyes and ragged breathing, Professor Jade did not cast any magic toward Sophia and Berald.

“He resisted my ‘whisper’…?”

Serpente looked at Professor Jade in shock.

It wasn’t the first time someone had resisted the ‘Blessing of Whisper.’

There had been quite a few heroes who hadn’t fallen for her whispers before.

But.

‘That was only possible because they never fell for the whisper in the first place.’

The Blessing of Whisper she used started as a small ‘whisper’ that could be ignored by simply closing one’s ears.

But once someone fell for the whisper.

It gradually grew, filling the target’s mind.

If someone like Professor Jade, who had been under the whisper for over a month, should only hear her whisper and nothing else.

“Why isn’t my whisper working…!”

Serpente gritted her teeth and whispered to Professor Jade again.

But her efforts were in vain as Professor Jade’s bloodshot eyes gradually returned to their original color.

“Haa.”

The whisper faded, and a voice reached him.

The most important voice to him now.

Professor Jade slowly turned his head toward Sophia and spoke.

“Oscar candidate was…”

He continued in a low voice.

“A terrible candidate.”

“……”

“Arrogant, selfish, self-centered, and only cared about himself.”

Tears welled up in Professor Jade’s eyes as he looked at Sophia.

“But… but, you see.”

He touched the Artificial Holy Mark on his right chest and sobbed.

“He was… my irreplaceable… precious student.”

“…You.”

Sophia looked at Professor Jade with trembling eyes.

She gently pushed Berald away and stood up.

Step, step.

She slowly walked toward Professor Jade.

“I’m sorry… Saying I would save the world, from the beginning… I shouldn’t have dreamed such an impossible dream… My foolish dream led your brother to his death.”

“……”

“Haha. To complete the research I started to save the world by borrowing the power of a mine… What a pitiful, miserable ending.”

A dream that, though faded, had never been tainted.

He had tainted it with his own hands.

“Please don’t forgive me.”

Professor Jade knelt before Sophia with a bitter smile.

“I wasn’t going to forgive you anyway.”

Sophia extended her staff toward the kneeling Professor Jade.

Red magic power swirled at the tip of the staff.

And.

Thud.

A light impact spread across Professor Jade’s forehead.

“Huh?”

Professor Jade, looking dazed, touched his forehead as Sophia walked past him and spoke softly.

“Next time… complete it without borrowing the power of a mine. The dream you and my brother shared.”

“……”

“If I help, it might be completed faster than you think.”

Sophia shrugged toward the stunned Professor Jade.

“Despite how I look, I’m much better at magic than my brother, you know.”