Violetta, who had gone to the Mage Academy, returned to her accommodation late in the evening. She ate half-heartedly and went into the bathtub. This magnificent bathtub, which offered a view of the lake, was one of the attractions of this “Lake Inn.”
After finishing her bath, the Grand Mage appeared before her two disciples with a fresh look. She flopped down on the bed, crossed her legs gracefully, and let out a deep sigh.
“Oh, there’s no shortage of troublesome matters.”
“Did you hear anything from the Dawn Society?”
The ‘Dawn Society’ was the name of a group of mages that governed the magic-specialized city of Bemberg.
Although Violetta was not a member of the Dawn Society, due to her position, she was often invited to attend their highest meetings.
“The Codex Chapter 8 has appeared. Fortunately, the Dawn Society managed to retrieve Chapter 8, but we don’t know when the next chapter will appear.”
“What a pity, just at this time…”
“It’s not just coincidence. It means that the demons are stirring up hell.”
Codex.
Yuric remembered reading an explanation about the Codex in a history book.
Known as the Book of Hell, it was speculated to be a curse resulting from a pact made by demons thousands of years ago. Although the exact details were unknown because there were no records, only a demon could have committed such an act.
Since magic settled into human civilization, mages tried to find ways to prevent the Codex from appearing in the mortal world. However, there was no way to stop something that came through human dreams. Humans couldn’t be told not to sleep, after all.
Thus, the three major magical groups in the continent—the Mage Tower, the Dawn Society, and the Holy Magic Order—took on the task of collecting and sealing the Codex that appeared in the human realm. The Mage Tower, being the oldest, possessed three chapters of the Codex, while the Dawn Society had one, and the Holy Magic Order had another.
Violetta mentioned that with the Dawn Society retrieving Chapter 8, humanity now had six chapters of the Codex.
“Then where are the remaining two chapters?”
“We don’t know where the other two are. There is a rumor that one of them is with the Golden Hand.”
Even Yuric, who was generally ignorant about this field, had heard the nickname “Golden Hand” a few times.
The Golden Hand Niruin.
He was a descendant of a great merchant family that had lasted for five generations. He was so wealthy that it was said that if he released his gold, the prices across the entire continent would skyrocket.
As a collector of rare items, he was also famous for hoarding various treasures, which made people speculate that he might have one chapter of the Codex.
“Well, it’s fine as long as it doesn’t get completed.”
“Of course, one chapter wouldn’t pose too much of a threat, but… a curse is still a curse. And it’s a curse from hell. No one can predict how it will affect us.”
Violetta uncrossed her legs and crossed them the other way.
“So, we need to stay here until the seal on the Codex is complete. It could take anywhere from one to two months. Keep that in mind.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Just as they were wrapping up their conversation, Yuric hesitated and opened his mouth again.
“I met Senior Drogman on the bridge earlier.”
“…Who did you meet?”
Grand Mage Violetta’s eyebrows immediately furrowed. She looked displeased.
“Hmph, that guy is a slippery character. Stay away from him!”
Interestingly, Drogman was a rare puppeteer mage.
Puppeteers controlled specially crafted puppets, and the strength and power of these puppets varied greatly depending on the materials used. Drogman’s puppets were made of dragon scales, and while most puppeteers could control one or two puppets, he could control up to four.
‘I… wanted to learn a bit of control magic.’
However, seeing Violetta’s strong reaction, Yuric decided to give up on learning control magic. After all, it was a very delicate and difficult skill that couldn’t be mastered in just a day or two.
When the Grand Mage Violetta sprawled out on the bed, Shilson began massaging her arms and legs with great care.
“You’ve worked hard today!”
“Yes, Shilson, you’ve worked hard too.”
“No, not at all.”
Shilson never asked Yuric to massage the Grand Mage. He insisted that it was a specialized task.
While giving her a massage, Shilson chattered away about what happened during the day. Then, his senior interrupted him.
“By the way, Master. Our living expenses are almost depleted.”
“Already…? Hmm… I see. You must be managing it well.”
“Thank you!”
‘Indeed, someone with experience…!’
Instead of asking how old he was, Yuric learned from his senior.
Bemberg Magic Academy.
Though not as old as the Mage Tower, the Bemberg Magic Academy was a prestigious institution that had been around since the founding of Bemberg.
While staying there, Yuric often visited the academy to audit various lectures.
Even though he couldn’t sit in a seat, ask questions, or take notes, just listening was enough to be helpful.
Among these, he paid particular attention to history lessons.
History was interesting because the same event could be interpreted differently based on various sources and perspectives.
Additionally, the library, which was open to all mages, was one of his primary destinations.
Though he couldn’t take books out, he was grateful for the opportunity to read as many magical texts as he could.
Being an outsider, Yuric studied in a corner of the library, improving his internal circuits, studying history, and investigating the Codex, which had recently piqued his interest.
‘Demons and hell…’
After carefully examining various books, Yuric discovered that the calamities of hell plaguing humanity were not limited to the Codex alone. There were other horrors like the ‘Black Pillar,’ which transformed everything into a different form, and ‘Nereva,’ a destination for lost souls.
Yuric realized once again how desperately humanity had struggled for survival against both demons and hell itself.
He closed his eyes and placed his hand over his heart, expressing deep gratitude and mourning to the heroes of humanity.
As Yuric left the library feeling accomplished, someone stood directly in his path.
It was a beautiful lady wearing a red cloak embroidered with gold threads and a pure white dress adorned with lace.
“Here…”
She extended a letter envelope. Yuric took it and looked at her with questioning eyes. She immediately turned and walked away, smiling mysteriously among her friends, disappearing quickly.
There was a man standing far away, glaring at Yuric disapprovingly. Yuric, wanting to be friendly with everyone, waved back at the man whose eyes met his. The man then turned abruptly and walked away, making a loud noise with his footsteps.
Unfamiliar with noble etiquette, Yuric returned to his accommodation, pondering if he had made any mistakes.
Demon Gargo was content with his current life.
In the demon world, he hadn’t stood out much, but by joining the humans’ side, he avoided endless conflicts among his own kind. From the human perspective, he was considered a formidable figure.
Gargo desired a quiet life. So, he joined the household of a wealthy and powerful baron as a mage. He didn’t do this out of loyalty; he simply thought that a household with too high a status would be too troublesome.
“These humans are too barbaric. Look at how comfortable my life is!”
However, sometimes Gargo’s savage nature would surface. When that happened, he would go hunting to calm himself. A little blood seemed to settle his temper.
Gargo came to Bemberg with the second son of the baron and was enjoying a peaceful life. Though he was supposed to be a tutor for the second son, they hardly interfered with each other. The second son had no talent or interest in magic; he only cared about women.
But today was different.
The boy had come to torment him again.
“You have someone to discipline.”
“I won’t touch anyone recklessly.”
“Just threaten them! Make sure they can’t even show their face here!”
If that’s the case…
Gargo was a mage employed by the baron, feeding off the baron’s wealth.
While it was unpleasant to obey a human’s orders, he could endure it for the sake of a peaceful life.
So, the next day, Gargo followed the second son to the academy.
He enjoyed the fearful looks humans gave him. While he craved peace, moments like these weren’t entirely bad. They scratched at the suppressed part of his nature.
“Wait here for a moment. He’ll be coming out soon.”
The second son was quite arrogant.
But Gargo remained patient. He still had the patience for this.
Soon, the second son pointed somewhere.
“That one. Follow me.”
Gargo moved in the direction the second son indicated.
And there he saw the human the second son had pointed at.
“Hey, do you think you can hang out with a lady?”
It was a typical love triangle situation.
“If you don’t leave right now, things will get ugly.”
The second son then pointed at Gargo with his thumb.
……
Gargo’s gaze followed the finger.
“…Gargo, what are you doing?”
The index finger of the person he faced was blackened.
Gargo recalled the past.
Back then.
Before joining forces with the worms of humanity.
Gargo fought alongside his kin against a human mage.
He thought it would be easy, considering the human mage was just one person.
But all of Gargo’s kin died at the tip of the human mage’s finger.
It was a massacre. Gargo fled as soon as he judged there was no hope. He didn’t care about the dying kin and ran away.
Later, he found out.
The human mage he faced was a mage of the Index Finger.
And the other mage used the same spell.
Index Finger Magic.
Mage of the Index Finger.
That monster.
Gargo cursed and grabbed the second son by the collar, his demonic eyes filled with fear.
“Do you intend to kill me?!”
“…What…?”
Gargo roared.
“He’s a mage of the Index Finger!”
—
Holding the letter tightly, Yuric’s eyes widened as he encountered a demon unexpectedly.
‘This might…’
It could be a valuable teaching material.
