CHAPTER 39: APOSTLE OF LUST AND FURY

"Maxim. You can use clairvoyance, right?"

"Leader... no way..."

As the situation escalated so quickly, Maxim’s tone from his mercenary days slipped out without him even realizing it.

"Use it now. If you can do that, you can see through it somehow, right? You probably still have the authority you were given anyway."

"Captain—no, General Overseer. As you know, Supervisor, it’s taboo for insiders to intervene through magic during the exam under any circumstances! Unless it’s a truly unusual situation..."

"This is an unusual situation, so just shut up and do as you’re told. I’ll take responsibility."

"Ha... I really don’t know."

"When did you ever?"

Maxim sighed, closed his eyes, and began to recite the incantation.

"I ask that those who seek wisdom, those who desire answers, and all those who are bound by the flow, be granted eyes to see the truth wherever they are in the world."

Maxim opened his eyes.

"—Clairvoyance."

The twinkling red veins in his eyes were proof that the magic had been successfully activated. However, the aftereffects were severe—blood began to flow from his nose.

Bella Trey, seeing the scene, spoke urgently as if it were nothing unusual.

"Come on, share it."

"Ju... just a moment..."

After a while, the scene Maxim was witnessing unfolded in Bella Trey’s mind as well.

"... Leader."

"Yeah. I’m watching..."

Eyes stained bright red, hair matted with blood and flesh, and a grotesquely twisted body.

It was Rachel.

—No, it was something that used to be Rachel.

Maxim spoke in a trembling voice, terrified by what he saw even though his expression barely changed.

"... That is..."

"Yeah. It’s evil."

At that moment, Maxim collapsed, clutching his eyes.

"Tsk!"

Blood flowed from them.

"Maxim, as of now, testing is suspended."

"Yes?"

"I’ll be heading to the exam center. Contact the Blue Cross."

After saying that, Bella Trey walked out of the room with confident steps.

However, despite her confident stride, her hands were trembling slightly.

Evil.

That was another name for disaster.

* * *

The moment she saw the magic spear Axion, Rachel screamed and disappeared in an instant.

"Kiiiiiiiiiic!!"

Her speed was so fast that I could not even dare to chase after her.

If she had moved that quickly from the beginning, I would have been caught before I even arrived here.

I did not know why, but it gave me time to take a breather. Eden and Frey approached me with anxious faces and asked,

"Captain, is that really Instructor Rachel? How on earth did this happen?"

"Well... I can feel tremendous magical energy from that thing. Charlotte saw that and called it evil... Do you know what evil is?"

There was no way an ordinary person would know about "evil."

It was such unfamiliar knowledge that even I, the person who created the setting, had forgotten it.

This story was like a legend among black magicians.

It was called by various names such as evil spirit, devil, or disaster, but black magicians referred to it as "evil," which meant devil in the ancient language, with both reverence and fear.

Magical power and demonic energy possess different properties.

Generally, magical energy becomes purer and clearer as it continues to be trained, but as demonic energy grows, it erodes the host’s spirit itself.

An example of this is the short-lived nature of magicians and most black magicians who are contaminated with demonic energy.

However, among them, a very small number of people experience a kind of "awakening" instead of dying.

Various hypotheses have been proposed, including extreme mental stress, mana contamination, and runaway magical energy, but the exact cause has never been revealed.

Once awakened, regardless of whether one was a famous sage in the past or a sword master protecting the empire, they transform into an evil spirit driven solely by murderous instinct.

They lack the reason of demons and the subordination of monsters. They are disasters that pursue only blind slaughter.

In the past, a single incident in which a renowned knight turned evil and destroyed an entire city demonstrated just how beyond human standards they were.

’I do not know why she became evil, but I know for certain that things are spiraling out of control. Fortunately, she does not have wings or horns yet, which means she is only at stage two. Once the awakening is complete, there will be no turning back. We must end this somehow before that happens.’

"I do not know the details either. It is just that this situation is not merely a test..."

At that moment, my body felt weak and my head began to spin.

’Uh...? Suddenly, my strength...’

Frey and Eden, startled, rushed over and supported me.

"Zail! Are you okay?"

"Captain! Are you alright?"

I felt sick to my stomach. A wave of exhaustion washed over me, and my body became limp.

I barely managed to regain my senses and stand up. The Axion in Rachel’s hand had vanished.

’Could it be mana exhaustion? At this particular time... Damn, nothing ever goes as planned.’

This cursed mana tank had once again caught my ankle. Mana exhaustion had occurred due to excessive use of mana.

’... There is no other choice. It is better to use black magic than to die here.’

For now, I planned to gloss it over somehow by claiming it was the curse of the evil dragon, but if my true identity were discovered, I would have to kill everyone...

"It seems you have made up your mind."

Eden suddenly spoke out of nowhere.

His expression was so devoid of emotion that I wondered if this was truly the same person who usually wore such a gentle face. His emotionless eyes stared directly into mine.

"Eden. What do you mean by that all of a sudden?"

Frey looked between us with confusion, but Eden paid her no heed. His gaze remained fixed on me as he smiled faintly, an inexplicable expression on his face.

"Hmm. We do not have much time, so I shall use some drastic measures."

As soon as he finished speaking, Eden raised his hand and struck the back of Frey’s neck.

Frey lost consciousness instantly, unable to react to the sudden blow.

It was a flawless strike. No matter how sudden the attack was, Frey—born with remarkable martial talent—could not even respond.

I grabbed the back of his neck with all my strength, as if I were about to break it at any moment.

"... What is this?"

My face turned red with fury, yet Eden did not resist. He simply stood still, staring at me with calm eyes.

’As expected, you have been hiding your power all this time. Are you the one who caused this situation?’

"... ... ."

"Answer me right now. Otherwise..."

Silence.

My eyes widened as I stared at Eden.

"... You."

The man who had Eden’s face just a moment ago disappeared without a trace.

"No way."

The person standing before me now was not Eden, but a handsome man with platinum hair and red eyes.

"It is an honor to meet you, Apostle of Lust and Fury."