Chapter 39

What has happened here?

Albert stared with hopeless eyes at the scene unfolding before him.

And yet, ironically, he didn’t want to see the sight in front of him.

If possible, he wanted to close his eyes right away.

“What… Why…?!!”

However, some unknown force was forcibly holding him and showing him the scene, preventing him from looking away.

“Wh-what is this… Did I lose control of my power?”

“A… Ah…”

The woman pierced by the ice spike he had released was now helplessly struck by the werewolf’s fist and slammed into the wall before his very eyes.

And this was no ordinary person—it was the Saint, known as the hope of the world, who had just died.

“Damn… It’s over…”

Because of me.

Albert scolded himself, falling into anguish.

Even though he hadn’t directly intended to cast the spell that way, the fact remained that he had caused her death through his magic.

Common sense dictated that there was no one in this world who could survive being pierced by a massive ice spike and then struck by a werewolf’s fist.

In addition to the guilt of taking a life, he had killed the hope of the world—the people of the Northern Region practically worshipped her as a deity. He worried about what the future held.

Perhaps his family itself might be erased from existence within this empire.

But such concerns were insignificant now.

After all…

“Can I… survive this?”

There was no certainty that he could even survive this place.

“Oh… the bracelet…”

He suddenly remembered that he had distributed bracelets to everyone as a precaution against such an event.

Now knowing the method, he couldn’t just sit idly by.

“Bracelet… bracelet…”

Albert frantically tried to activate the bracelet fastened around his wrist, trembling with his shaking hands.

But,

“Why won’t it work…!”

The bracelet, already broken, couldn’t possibly function.

Despite his futile attempts, tears streaming down his face, he didn’t stop, hoping against hope it might work.

He wondered if this was all a dream.

Rather, he wished it was just a dream.

“Why… Why do I have to endure this…?!!”

He had lived as an aristocrat all his life, never having killed anyone.

He was just an ordinary noble, proud of belonging to a great family that had produced many powerful magicians.

He had come to the Academy to leave a legacy, hoping to become a higher-tier magician and contribute to his family.

But the scene in front of him now was nothing like the Academy life he had imagined.

Seeing someone impaled by his magic, and watching someone die right before him… It all felt like a nightmare, devoid of reality.

Yes… This must be a nightmare.

Reality couldn’t be like this.

Nightmare…

Nightmare…?

Ah…

Mist…

Nightmares…

Killing… life…?

Uh… Hu? Ah?

“Ah… Aah…?”

A black mist crept into the young man’s consciousness and smiled.

– Hate life…

Destroy everything in front of you.

Cursing everything living…

Like a whisper, that voice sank deep into his mind, and slowly the trembling of Albert’s body started to ease.

KILL…

ERADICATE…

DESTROY…

The voice penetrated his mind, fracturing his spirit, and the demonic energy surged through his entire body like an explosion.

The skin, eroded by the demonic energy, began to turn black, and the eyes, once filled with the pride of an aristocrat, lost their vitality, shining instead with a blood-red glow.

From his corrupted heart, the demonic energy surged into existence like a pulse, unable to find an outlet, and broke through the top of his head, forming horns.

“…”

Albert no longer existed in that place.

In his place stood a demon, born from Albert, destined to annihilate the world.

“What… is that…?”

The werewolf sensed danger from Albert’s appearance.

His survival instincts screamed that he had to flee immediately.

Sweating cold sweat, the werewolf took a step back.

However, the wolf’s innate animalistic senses recognized his impending death a heartbeat faster.

“Da…nger…”

His thoughts were cut short.

For where the werewolf’s head had been, there was now nothing, accompanied by an explosion of air.

“…”

Thud!

The headless body collapsed.

Albert, or rather, the demon, began to move with an inscrutable expression, set on destroying everything alive in sight.

And the second target was already chosen.

“Haa… Haa…”

The demon’s gaze turned.

Divine power was inherently repulsive to demons and something they instinctively wanted to eradicate from this world.

Whoever possessed the ability to effectively destroy and purify demons could never be welcomed.

Even a newly born demon knew what could kill it.

Divine power.

A force that, even when merely sensed nearby, triggered an instinctive sense of loathing.

“Already… turned into a demon…?!”

Thus, even if newly born like a baby, a demon’s actions didn’t differ.

On the contrary, because only instincts remained, it was more suited to a demon whose sole purpose was to destroy life and lead to the world’s demise.

“Grogh…”

The demon moved solely to eliminate the unpleasant presence before him.

It looked at the struggling girl caught in its hand, attempting to break free.

Held by the demon’s grip around her neck, the girl was frantically trying to dislodge the hand that wouldn’t release her.

Having been born from Albert, the demon knew almost everything Albert did.

Hence, even without experience in killing, it was aware of the theoretical methods to end life.

It exerted force to snap the life-sustaining organ in front of it, needed for breathing.

KRAK

“…”

Finally, the life in front of him began to fade again.

The girl’s body went limp.

The pulse he felt under his fingers ceased, and the demon realized that the girl had died. It released its grip.

The girl fell to the floor and lay still.

The demon briefly looked down at her before turning its head, ready to move away from this place.

“Where… do you think you’re going?”

The voice didn’t come from outside.

Yet, somehow, the girl’s voice echoed in the demon’s mind.

Something felt strange.

Hadn’t there been only one girl in existence here, the one he’d just killed?

The fact that a voice resounded now implied that the girl he had killed moments ago had come back to life.

Impossible.

Still, the demon turned its body to look back at where it had dropped the girl.

There stood the girl he had just killed, now on her feet, looking straight at him.

The demon was genuinely perplexed.

The girl had clearly died moments ago, her neck broken at his hand, blood spilling, and the clear marks of his hand still visible, yet she was standing upright, divine power already manifesting.

How was this possible?

Having confirmed her death with his own hands just a moment ago, the demon was puzzled by the sight of the girl alive again. But the thought soon crossed its mind that it didn’t matter.

If she had returned, he could simply kill her again.

Just as the demon prepared to take another step toward her,

the girl was breathing heavily but revealed an intense will toward the demon.

It puzzled the demon further.

The girl showed no animosity toward the one who had killed her.

It was strange.

It was strange that, despite dying at the demon’s hand moments before, she showed no enmity and, instead, displayed a determination to save him.

It almost seemed like sympathy.

Before the demon could ponder why, the girl made a declaration to him,

“I will… definitely save you!”

As she said this, the necklace in her hand glowed with divine power.

Annoyingly bright.