Episode 97
“You made a good call. Oh, and Evan?”
Evan glanced up with a crooked look.
“What’s with that expression?”
“Isn’t your gaze a bit disrespectful? You’re still my master, after all.”
“…Shut up.”
Chris chuckled softly before speaking again.
“When we escape this place, hide out for a while, then head to the Free City of Cainfer.”
“Free City?”
“Yeah. Enroll in the ‘Training Academy’ next term. It’ll be a chance for you to grow.”
Where Evan went after that didn’t really matter.
No matter where he went, the constellations who favored him would bless him.
But Cainfer was a must.
Because of the Training Academy.
It was where the core members of the hero’s party first came together.
“The place where the continent’s brightest stars gather.”
Cainfer’s Training Academy was unlike any other.
Only those who graduated at the top of their class from academies across the continent qualified to enter.
The cutoff varied depending on the prestige of the academy, but you had to graduate at least third in your class to even apply.
And you couldn’t apply immediately after graduation.
Only those who proved their skills in the field after graduating could step foot in the academy.
It wasn’t a place to nurture rookies, but a hall where the continent’s most elite, already proven talents gathered.
Graduates of the academy were recognized as the best elites in every field.
“Cainfer’s Training Academy is a sanctuary even the famed swordsmanship houses dare not touch. It’ll be safe.”
“…Alright.”
“Well then, I’ll be off.”
Chris handed Evan over to Ruina and turned his back, but Evan spoke unexpectedly.
“What about you?”
“I’ll stay here and deal with the pursuers.”
Evan closed his mouth tightly and asked,
“…Why are you risking such danger for me?”
Chris tilted his head.
‘It’s not really for you.’
He was planning to take care of Maysak while getting Evan out, but Evan seemed to misunderstand that Chris was risking himself for his sake.
“Isn’t it dangerous? I’ll fight alongside you.”
“I appreciate the thought, but it’s fine. Don’t worry about me, just go.”
Chris said it because he truly didn’t need help, but for some reason, Evan frowned.
“I won’t go. I’ll fight with you.”
‘Hmm.’ It was unexpected, and troublesome.
Chris couldn’t reveal what he was about to show Evan.
“This is an order from your master. Disobedience is not allowed.”
The moment Chris said that—
“!!”
Evan’s body stiffened.
Dark magic had manifested!
‘I secretly modified the master-servant seal so I could issue simple commands. It’s not a full obedience seal, so the compulsion isn’t strong. But since we’re already in a master-servant relationship, might as well use it.’
Chris couldn’t fully trust Evan.
They had been comrades in a past life, but that was the past, and now Chris was a demon opposing Evan.
He needed at least some safety measures, so he planned to use this bond.
“You go your way. Leave the rest to your master.”
Chris smiled slyly and vanished with a burst of light.
“……”
Evan clenched his teeth, watching Chris’s retreating figure.
It wasn’t because he was upset about being forced by dark magic.
‘What on earth is he thinking? Why take such a risk?’
As far as Evan knew, the demons chasing them weren’t opponents Chris could handle.
The Amgui Corps.
An elite combat unit even the swordsmanship houses knew about.
‘There’s no way I can take them on… Orders or not, I have to step in.’
Though dark magic compelled him, the obedience seal wasn’t fully engraved, so Evan could resist if he wanted.
But he hesitated.
‘Why should I? What do I care what happens to that guy?’
If anything, Evan stood to gain if Chris died.
Best to leave him be.
‘Then why is he risking all this for me?’
Evan’s face showed utter confusion.
Chris had left alone to save him.
Not just this time, but from the start.
Chris had gone to great lengths to protect Evan.
He even begged the Absolute Lord of the Dark Magi, Nordian, for aid, and whenever demons targeted Evan’s neck, Chris was there to shield him.
His attitude was rough, but if you looked closely, every action Chris took was focused on protecting Evan.
That was the reason given, but it was hard to accept.
Honestly, what were the chances Evan could grow strong enough to take down the despicable swordsmanship houses?
Evan himself thought the odds were slim.
‘He risked all this for such a slim chance?’
What was stranger—
‘…Even with my clairvoyance, I felt no hostility.’
A secret no one else in the world knew.
Evan had a power called ‘Clairvoyance’ granted by the constellations.
He hadn’t yet formed a contract with them.
But remarkably, he had received blessings from an uncontracted constellation.
‘It’s still immature, so I can’t clearly see into others’ hearts yet. But the feelings directed at me weren’t hostile. On the contrary… they were kind.’
From the beginning, Chris’s every action toward Evan was based on goodwill.
More precisely, on ‘concern.’
‘Why?’
Evan frowned.
At first, he was confused.
But now he was certain.
He couldn’t understand it at all.
‘Could it be… pity for my situation?’
He remembered the look on Chris’s face when he said that.
A mocking expression, but Evan’s clairvoyance revealed something else beneath it.
‘…Ridiculous.’
Evan chuckled dryly.
After his father died and his mother committed a humiliating suicide, no one in the world cared about him.
Even his own blood relatives only wished for his death.
Yet here he was, receiving concern from a demon he’d never met before.
An indescribable feeling stirred in his chest.
‘…Arrogant.’
Evan’s eyes blazed fiercely.
Yes, arrogant enough that he couldn’t just let it go.
He’d go to that guy and slap him on the back of the head for leaving like that.
‘No, I’m not going for his sake. I’m going to crush that arrogant bastard’s nose.’
With that thought, he gathered his strength to resist the dark magic.
But Ruina grabbed him.
“Wait, stop. Evan, where do you think you’re going?”
“…To fight alongside him.”
“No, you can’t. Leave it be.”
“Leave it be? He’ll die! Or do you want him to die?”
Ruina shook her head.
“Prince Christian? No way. He won’t die.”
“…Why not?”
“Because Christian is the most cunning… no, smartest person I’ve ever met.”
“……”
“He would never walk into death on his own. So stop worrying and prepare to leave, just as he asked.”
Evan hesitated but finally stopped.
Ruina’s words made sense.
If it was really Chris, he might have some unknown trick up his sleeve.
If so, Evan going back now would only be a hindrance.
‘…I’ll hide and build my strength first.’
Evan clenched his fist.
Though he didn’t like the guy, and he was even a demon.
As the rightful heir of the Meyer family, he wouldn’t forget the debt.
He would repay what he owed someday.
To do that, he needed to grow stronger.
“Come on, hurry! I’m activating the artifact!”
Light burst from Ruina’s artifact.
As the glow enveloped him, Evan thought one last time.
He didn’t understand that guy at all.
But one thing was certain.
There was no way he was the ‘Great Darkness’ that would destroy the world.
Nearby, in the forest by the Brexis River.
A group was cutting through the trees.
Maysak and the Amgui Corps.
“This way, Prince.”
“How far behind are we?”
“Not far. We should catch up soon. I’m confirming the exact direction.”
Maysak ground his teeth.
The moment to catch and kill that arrogant Christian had finally come.
‘Never. I won’t let him die peacefully. I’ll inflict unbearable pain until he begs for death.’
“Hurry and confirm the direction he went!”
“Yes, just confirmed. Southeast.”
“Let’s go!”
Maysak shouted, eager to tear the guy apart.
And finally—
A human figure appeared in the distance.
‘That swordsmanship house’s slave!’
“Take him first! Don’t kill him yet!”
Neither of them could be killed carelessly. They planned to torture them together before death.
Flash!
The Amgui Corps charged.
The swordsmanship house’s slave flinched but it was too late.
The soldiers’ blades sliced through his limbs.
Blood splattered.
Limbs severed and flying.
He let out a scream and collapsed to the ground in agony.
“Well done!”
“This is strange.”
“Hm?”
“Why didn’t he resist at all?”
Now that they thought about it, it was true.
They’d heard he was a powerful knight, but he hadn’t fought back.
‘Why?’
Then, a mocking laugh echoed.
“Oh, that? It’s a homunculus. A very expensive one. A high meister handcrafted it to be indistinguishable from a human body, even by magic.”
From a tree above, a smug face looked down on them.
“Christian!”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Christian leapt down swiftly from the tree.
“Chasing me this fiercely, huh? It’s not because you want to see me, is it?”
Christian’s gaze swept over them coldly.
“You want to settle this once and for all? You won’t regret it.”
“…”
For some reason, Misaak and the Amgwi squad flinched without realizing it.
Instinctively, they felt a flicker of fear—but they didn’t consciously acknowledge it.
After all, their strength was overwhelmingly superior on paper.
Shaking off the uneasy feeling, Misaak spoke darkly.
“You’re the one who’ll regret this. You’ll rue the disrespect you’ve shown me, writhing in hellish pain.”
“Oh? Heh heh. No need for more talk then. Come on.”
Christian drew his sword.
What was strange was that it wasn’t the usual dark magic sword he carried, but a blade from a renowned swordsmanship family.
The Amgwi squad members exchanged glances.
“We’re going all out immediately. Deploy the Amgwi Formation.”
“But… the Amgwi Formation is our strongest combined attack. He’ll be dead instantly.”
One of the soldiers questioned.
Misaak hoped to capture Christian alive, to make him suffer as much as possible before killing him.
“Orders are orders! We can’t afford to be careless.”
The deputy commander of the Amgwi squad frowned.
‘This doesn’t feel right.’