By Zephyria 
Located quite a distance from the central street of Mardelfia, which embraced Merzel Academy, the outskirts… the ‘Abandoned Village’.
That place is a high-crime area where only those in the worst circumstances within Adelmaid, the imperial capital and direct territory of the Valhalla Empire, gather.
This is because it borders a polluted land designated as a ‘Special Management Zone’ near the territory boundary, making it unsuitable for human habitation.
Special Management Zones refer to places that, after the Niflheim War, were contaminated by Fiends, resulting not only in barren and harsh environments but also where flora and fauna have become ‘Fiend-touched’.
Therefore, most of the inhabitants of the Abandoned Village were orphans abandoned by their parents and criminals who had fled after committing crimes.
It’s a place even commoners extremely avoid, let alone a place nobles would set foot in.
And there.
Using the weekend time when no classes were scheduled, Ardian, who had gone out, was present.
Utterly out of place in the Abandoned Village, he was waiting for someone in a secluded alley.
Not long after, a faint ripple of Mana emanated from the crumbling building wall Ardian was leaning against.
Then, quietly passing through the wall and revealing themselves were… two humanoid Fiends, Balkans, with their distinctive appearance of black sclera and pale pupils.
Ardian looked back at them without showing any surprise.
The two Balkans also fluttered their cloaks and knelt on one knee before him, paying their respects.
The two Balkans exuded a distinctly different aura from the Lesser Balkans that had previously attacked the academy’s training grounds. A bit more intelligent… quite similar to ‘that of high-ranking humans’.
Ardian looked down at the two Balkans for a moment, then spoke in a calm voice, as if inquiring about their well-being.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you in person. Seo-jok, Buk-i.”
“The humble servants of the Axis pay respects to the noble heavens. Please forgive us for only now coming to pay our respects like this.”
The Balkan called Seo-jok replied in fluent language, his voice heavy and low as if scraping the ground. His expression was so bland and dry it was like a mask.
Meanwhile, the Balkan named Buk-i, who had quietly hunched his body beside Seo-jok… trembled with a face that seemed afraid of something. He was sweating an immense amount, visibly so.
“Enough. If Fiends are seen wandering near the imperial family and that sight is witnessed by anyone, it would be troublesome for me too. From now on, I will continue to use Remote Sense for communication as we have until now.”
“Yes.”
“And… the reason I called you is nothing else. Buk-i.”
Ardian pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against and stood up straight. Even at this insignificant movement, Buk-i flinched and shuddered.
He was trembling so pitifully it was almost heartbreaking.
However, Ardian’s gaze, devoid of even a trace of emotion, was cold as ice as he looked down.
Finally, Ardian’s mouth opened….
“I heard Ray almost died because of the last incident.”
Instantly, Buk-i’s pupils shook violently with agitation.
“P-please, just hear me out once, Axis!”
He immediately prostrated himself flat on the ground.
“I definitely gave that bastard strict instructions! That they must never harm the person of the Axis, and our goal is solely to bring them back! But that maggot-like bastard! I don’t know what exactly he did, but I absolutely had no other impure intentions….”
“However, it was ultimately you who sent the Lesser Balkans to him. Even though you knew, due to their stupidity, they might not be properly controlled. It might have been an action stemming from neglect, but either way, it’s unfortunate.”
“……!”
“But they say every word and action carries responsibility.”
Ardian’s golden eyes gleamed as he wore a smile as soft as if drawn with a brush, reaching out his hand. Buk-i was too terrified to retreat or resist. He simply stared at the hand descending from the sky, covering his face, with eyes wide as if they would pop out.
And then.
“Aaaagh!”
Ardian, gripping Buk-i’s face tightly, lifted him up. The instinct to live made him grab Ardian’s arm, scratching and shaking it, but Ardian didn’t even flinch.
“S-Spare me, aaaaagh…!”
The pressure on his skull grew stronger and stronger. Hot liquid gushed from the pierced holes.
The moment ‘fear of death’ permeated Buk-i’s mind.
His thoughts ceased with a final scream.
With a dull crushing sound, the headless corpse crashed to the floor. Splatter, the chunk of meat fell powerlessly onto the pool of blood, and the metallic-smelling liquid splashed in all directions.
“…Of course, this is just my ‘venting’ anyway.”
Now, only Seo-jok was there to hear his casual mutter.
“Filthy.”
Ardian, covered in Buk-i’s blood, mumbled as he nonchalantly wiped his cheek. The nuance was that he had been sullied by filth.
Seo-jok, who had shown not even a hint of agitation until then, maintaining the same posture as before, lowered his head as if he had something to ask, and opened his mouth.
“Joong-chu. Are you certain that he is the one you were looking for? I am concerned that you may have lost Buk-i, who was your ear, in vain due to a… mistaken assumption.”
“Such an uncharacteristic and foolish distrust, Seo-jok.”
“If you wish, I will gladly offer this neck.”
Seo-jok said with a stiff face that showed no change. Ardian, letting out a small sigh, opened his mouth, thinking, ‘I can’t go back to school looking like this.’
“I’m certain. There’s no way I could have been mistaken in the first place. There are only two people who can use Black Mana… him and me. It’s been decided that way. Yes, from a very long time ago.”
A Magic Circle formed around Ardian’s palm as he placed it on his body. The clothes and body, stained with blood and filth, became clean as if washed. It was a Cleansing Magic that he mainly used when the situation wasn’t ideal in everyday life.
And the trace of Mana that briefly appeared and disappeared the moment he used the Cleansing Magic was not the yellow of Transformation magic that he had shown at the academy… but the same black as Raymond’s.
☠
A fine day, perfect for lazing around on a Sunday afternoon.
Herman had gone down to his family home after Friday’s class and wouldn’t be back until Sunday evening, so it was my world for the time being.
So, I did my campus patrol yesterday and was leisurely storing Mana and resting today when someone suddenly knocked on the door.
‘…Is it Zeon?’
I couldn’t think of anyone else. Herman, of course, and Tom, too, seemed to be often called home on weekends.
Originally, considering the size of the land and the distance between territories, it was actually impossible, but a ‘Teleportation Portal’ for students was being operated on campus every weekend, making it possible.
Anyway.
I couldn’t keep them waiting, so I got out of bed and opened the door. But… what was there wasn’t a person.
It was a ‘bird’ with eagle-like, sharp eyes.
And it was bigger than the body of an adult male.
Looking closely, the bird had a string tied around its neck, attached to a packaged parcel. It was clear that the culprit who knocked on the door was this guy.
[Raymond! Parcel! Raymond! Parcel!]
The bird, with its mouth wide open, made sounds like a human.
Then, it pecked at the parcel.
As soon as I untied the string and put down the parcel, the bird left without hesitation. Not flying… walking. It was truly a bizarre sight.
I barely tore my gaze away and checked the sender of the parcel. It was written that it was sent from the Valentasia family.
‘Ah. It came earlier than I thought.’
I had contacted them yesterday anyway because I had something to ask. I wanted to get their help, as they were more knowledgeable than anyone else in the field, to seriously study Necromancy Magic.
And Maximun, who gladly accepted my interest, had said that he would ‘send the related Magical Grimoires soon’… and that had arrived the very next day, today.
I took the parcel into the room and tore open the top.
Inside were Magical Grimoires that looked like old books and a noticeably thick letter envelope. The musty smell unique to old paper stimulated my nose.
‘There are three books in total.’
After roughly skimming through all the Magic books once, I found that they contained not only Necromancy but also general knowledge of Spiritism, such as curses and manipulation, which was interesting.
Finally, I tore open the letter envelope and took out the bundle of paper inside.
It contained greetings to me, stories of their daily lives, and brief supplementary explanations of each Magic book.
‘First… should I start by mastering the basics?’
According to the explanation, there was one Magic book that summarized the basic Necromancy Magic. One Magic book that corresponded to application and advanced levels. And the remaining one, a thin book without a cover, seemed to be a Treasured Book passed down within the family.
I left the dormitory with only the basic Magic book tucked under my arm and headed to the Maze Garden behind the central building.
And it was when I was walking there to sit in the pavilion and spend time using Magic directly.
“That’s right! Cute, so cute.”
I discovered someone giving seeds to sparrows, muttering to himself while squatting in the pavilion.
It was a small female human with noticeable thick, braided red hair. The small back view was quite familiar… so I spoke her name out loud.
“Newt Alkabas.”
Newt turned her head back. Her blue eyes, as intense as her hair color, were wide open.