Arthur's original reason for deciding to mess with Zach was mostly for the fun of it, however, after meeting Zach in person, he noticed something else.
'His energy is corrupted.'
Even Devils who were known for delving into evil magic and curses had a bottom line regarding what they messed with.
Monsterization magic is one of them.
This was a type of magic that transformed the target into a monster.
The definition of the word 'monster' may differ depending on the universe in question.
While races like orcs and goblins may be considered monsters in Hell and its neighbouring universes, the number of universes that exist in the universal sea is almost innumerable.
There were definitely universes out there with goblins as their masters, some with orcs, some with Ogres and other races considered monsters by the denizens of the Hell universe.
Monsterization magic being used on animals and other races already considered 'monsters' was fine, however, when used on sentient humanoid races, that's where there's a problem.
The magic gave the target a great power increase, sometimes it even increased their level of existence by one or two realms, however, it came at the cost of the target's sanity, life force and sometimes, their soul itself.
The hideous forms they gained as a result of using such magic were not much of a matter of concern.
After all, some retain their normal form with no difference, however, one look into their eyes would be enough to know that they were lost causes.
While there are those who possess skills to cast such magic in an instant, the magic was usually one that took a while to prepare.
If a person was in the process of monsterizing, their energy becomes corrupted gradually and it was almost impossible to tell the difference.
Even more so when they conceal their energies with artifacts or other magic tools.
Even some deity realm experts would be unable to tell the difference.
Arthur, however, was able to tell, this did not mean his senses were better than those of the deity realm, he was fooled by the energy-cloaking effect of the tool that Zach used to conceal this.
However, in the bag of tricks that contained various tools and artifacts given to him by Cattleya, there was a device that made one able to see through the effects of cloaking tools and artifacts.
'Mum's bag of tricks definitely comes in handy huh?'
It was a bracelet, one Arthur usually wore not because of its actual use but simply because he liked the design.
However, meeting Zach, he finally remembered the real reason he was given the bracelet in the first place.
'Thank goodness it's a passive effect, otherwise, I would have not noticed it.'
The multiple cloaking devices Zach used were rendered useless in the face of the tool created by the one with the title of 'strongest leviathan'.
One might forget based on the way she usually acted but Cattleya was the daughter of the leviathan devil Inglis, she inherited her mother's magic fanaticism, however, hers was directed towards creating magic tools.
Although they are called magic fanatics, the leviathans did not only dabble in magic but in other types of energy, currently, Inglis was even researching a way to make devils able to use divinity.
Research that would make gods spit out blood in shock if they heard of it.
Cattleya created an ether-powered device that absorbed surrounding magic energy, converted it to ether and enabled its wearer to see through most energy cloaks.
Her motivation for creating such was to see through Hades' true strength that had somehow become imperceptible to her.
The one she gave Arthur was a failed product, however, it could still work fine on anyone below the mid-tier deity realm.
Naturally, Zach's energy-cloaking tools could not block this.
As the one who was being monsterized couldn't hold back their increasing bloodlust, Arthur theorized Zach was reaching his limit and kept an eye on him, waiting for when he would croak.
He looked at the list of Artifacts he received from count Harper and figured out what among them would clearly be of use to Zach.
"A 'Circlet of wisdom', it's an artifact that grants immunity to any mental attacks or conditions.
With such a thing on, even with a curse of madness, the wearer would not lose their sanity."
[So that's what he's after? I understand it's quite rare but couldn't he get his hands on another one?]
The Count asked back through the group video call that consisted of Arthur, alongside the Count and a High Drifter.
[He probably didn't want to do so, a lot of eyes are on him as he's the son of Marquis, and the person behind him probably has his movements monitored too, as such, questions would be raised if they were to purchase such an artifact, and purchasing in secret would only increase suspicions, nothing is truly a secret these days.]
"With drifters like you snooping around, what could possibly be kept secret?"
Arthur retorted towards the drifter who only chuckled lightly in response before continuing.
[The dude's definitely gonna lose it soon, he knows he's being watched from various angles so he can't vent out his stress without being seen, courtesy of my special team.
All that's left of for you to catch him when he does.]
Arthur nodded in affirmation at his words, the count followed suit.
[Still is that okay? Multiple drifters on the devil's academy territory?]
"Obviously not, however, no action would be taken, I told grandpa about my suspicions so he sent out an order to all the directors to not take action against the drifters.
Zach also can't report them in the first place as he risks getting found out."
Arthur's reply made the count sigh in relief, the Drifter chuckled lightly once again before speaking.
[I'd send you the rest of the info soon, alongside the reason the Marquis's son would be involved in such magic, let's just say that the Marquis's servants aren't very tight-lipped.]
He cut the call afterwards, Arthur just sighed and spoke to the Count.
"The bastard probably tortured the answers out of them, then erased their memories and returned them without anyone knowing.
I'd contact you when I've dealt with Zach."
['Dealt with?' What are you gonna do?]
Arthur gave a wry smile towards the count's question before answering.
"Kill him."
He then cut the call afterwards. Staring at the blank screen, he spoke to no one in particular.
"Enjoy your last days well, Zach Pearce."
◇ ◇ ◇
Zach Pearce was enraged. First, he was being bugged by Arthur who always popped up whenever he was alone and dragged him to places he did not want to go.
'I'm an inferior stage grandmaster, why the hell am I unable to sense him whenever he gets close?!'
As Arthur speculated, he was having a hard time controlling himself.
Some of the forests in the school had weaker monsters in them as such he usually went over at night to vent on the monsters.
However, since Arthur started bugging him, he could not.
'I'm being watched.'
That was the second issue he was having. He noticed he was being watched from the shadows not long after Arthur began his antics.
The problem was he could not report that he was being watched for fear of his monsterization being found out.
If he reported it to the school authorities, their first question would be simple.
"What are you doing that would make you a target to be monitored?"
They would then take action to find out the reason he was being watched in the first place, this would lead to them discovering his corrupted energy, and his eventual monsterization.
That was what he wanted to avoid.
His monsterization was progressing faster than expected, this was because he was holding back his increasing bloodlust far more than he was supposed to.
He knew fully well that the reason he had so many eyes on him was because of Arthur.
He began to feel anxious, he felt all the people he met were secretly Arthur's spies who were watching him.
He withdrew himself to his room and hid there for days, he even missed a lot of classes.
Despite the multiple warnings from the teachers he received, he still shut himself in.
Once he felt he was no longer being watched, he ran off to the nearest forest to find any monster to attack and vent out his stress on.
However, just when he was about to end the unfortunate wolves he found, he felt eyes upon him.
The person didn't even bother to hide their gaze, and Zach knew fully well that whoever it was, he could not defeat that person.
Even with this happening , Arthur did not relent in trolling him daily, popping up wherever he went, even going as far as to show up in his room multiple times.
'It's all his fault!'
Eventually, he began blaming Arthur, all his problems were Arthur's fault.
His anxiety.
His inferiority complex.
His crumbling sanity.
Even his father scolding for him being the weakest and most useless of his children.
And finally, he snapped.