On the continent, the Trueborn Islands is considered a remote outpost. Many islands gathered closely there, making it an excellent place to hide from the mainland's eyes. As a result, all sorts of criminals flocked there.
Bam!
"You're dead!"
"Kill him!"
Street fights were a daily occurrence, and people didn't hesitate to watch without intervening. This was the true face of the lawless zone, the Trueborn Islands.
Today, amidst the passing peace, the largest island in the Trueborn Islands, Veronica, was occupied by the Kinane Mercenary Corps' leader, who was receiving a guest.
"You seem quite relaxed. Crawling all the way here."
The leader, Muto Kinane, addressed his guest with a rough tone. Nevertheless, the guest merely listened in silence.
"You should know by now, there's nothing you want here. Frankly, I don't even know what you want. You came and went a few years ago, didn't you?"
The man on the other side had a large rectangular wooden box by his side, which resembled a coffin. Muto spoke with an irritated expression as he glanced at the item that looked like a coffin.
"Say something. Don't just create this atmosphere for no reason."
"Muto."
The man's voice was as dry as a desert. He wore a thick cloak around his shoulders and called Muto's name once before remaining silent.
"I'll really leave if you keep this up. If you're going to keep creating this kind of atmosphere, I'm out."
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
Muto, who had been staring at the man as if in a standoff, finally exclaimed as if things were going well.
"What now?"
"Sir, urgent news has arrived."
"Urgent news? Do we need to keep it a secret?"
"No, sir."
"Then come in and tell me."
A mercenary opened the door, then stopped in surprise when he saw the person sitting across from Muto.
Seeing the mercenary's reaction, Muto urged him impatiently.
"What's the matter?"
"Sir, it's an urgent message from the Kasion Empire. Evan Von Orleans has resigned from all authority and positions."
"That lunatic?"
Muto, with a surprised expression, asked his subordinate, who nodded in response.
Evan Von Orleans.
No, the once renowned knight within the empire, who had now become just Evan, was a figure who possessed fervent support and immense power even within the empire.
"He stopped being the Inquisitor, you say?"
"He not only stopped being the Inquisitor but left the empire altogether."
"Left? Huh!"
Unable to believe the news, Muto scratched his head for a moment and then looked at the man sitting across from him.
The man remained motionless.
"Why? There must be a reason, right? He was already crazy, but has he truly lost his mind?"
"Well, according to the Archbishop's announcement, he resigned due to recent mission failures."
"Missions? Failures? No, isn't it ridiculous to take responsibility for a failed mission, especially when he's an Aura Master? Well, he could lose, I guess. But leaving the empire entirely? Is that even a credible story?"
"It seems to be the talk elsewhere too. He was known for his devoutness, and this sudden decision raises suspicions of some hidden agenda..."
At that moment, the quiet man interjected, "Finally, you've figured it out."
"Figured it out?"
"Gods were buried in ancient times. The so-called gods now are all illusions. The Kasion Empire is using the name of non-existent gods to fulfill their desires."
Muto and his subordinate were left speechless by his vehement words.
Although they didn't have strong religious beliefs, they believed in the existence of gods.
"Is this saying that Evan saw the dark side of the Kasion Empire and turned away?"
"We'll likely hear more news soon. We might even get updates on the elderly folks after a long time."
Muto shivered at the man's words.
The "elderly folks" he mentioned likely referred to the first and second Inquisitors of the Kasion Empire.
If they were on the move, it meant that the hunt was about to begin.
"Naturally, Evan would be the prey."
One thing they couldn't understand was why Evan had acted so radically without knowing these facts.
"If Evan manages to escape safely and entrusts his safety to another country, it wouldn't be that far-fetched."
Evan wasn't just an ordinary Aura Master.
He was a figure with skills that could be counted on one hand even on the entire continent.
Depending on his actions, it could have significant repercussions on the continent's political landscape.
"Alright, I understand now. Let's discuss this in more detail later. Until then, be courteous."
"Understood, Leader."
As his subordinate left, the room fell into silence once more.
Muto, who had been lost in thought and hadn't paid much attention to the man's presence, suddenly voiced a thought.
"Come to think of it, Evan and that lunatic are acquaintances, right?"
Muto's question prompted the man to raise his arm, which was covered by a cloak, and slowly run his fingers along his cheek.
There was a long scar, barely visible due to his well-groomed beard, but it was one of the few scars he possessed.
"I can't imagine how shocked I was when I heard that news. Honestly, it's thanks to you that the lunatic became one of the top ten on the continent, you know?"
"He should have died back then. Instead, an innocent person died."
"What? Is there a story I don't know?"
"It's nothing important."
The man, Maximen Cronell, continued with the same gloomy expression as before, "Just one of the common tragedies."
.
.
.
.
The start of the school year at the academy was approaching.
As students enjoyed the cool autumn weather, they finished their first lectures of the second semester and headed to the streets for lunch.
"Oh! Senior Adrias!"
Among the crowd, there was Adrias Cromwell, and someone called out to him.
Approaching Adrias, the person gathered even more curious gazes.
"Hello. I'm..."
"Jennifer Hysen."
When Adrias recognized her, Jennifer's face turned red.
"Oh, you knew."
Jennifer, who didn't expect Adrias to recognize her, was momentarily flustered but quickly regained her composure and spoke with hesitation.
"Oh, this isn't the right time. Senior Dianne has something to say about the investigation in the Mulfery Dorm. She asked us to gather at the Alben Street cafeteria to pass on the message."
"Why didn't you contact us via tablet? It's more convenient."
"Oh! Tablet... You have one?"
Jennifer was unsure of what to do, but Adrias shook his head.
"It's not your fault, no need to apologize. Thanks for delivering the message."
"Thank you? Uh, sure..."
Turning away from Jennifer, Adrias took out his tablet and immediately sent a message to Dianne.
After sending the short message, Adrias headed somewhere else.
'Deos' dealings are limited to the Mulfery Dorm for now.'
Deos might think that this incident is confined to the Mulfery Dorm, but that was a big misconception.
Adrias believed that this trade was just a prelude to the bizarre events that would spread like wildfire in the future.
'First, let's resolve the incident at the Mulfery Dorms.'
He thought as he moved forward.
He didn't intend to waste time.
Meanwhile, in the Alben Street cafeteria, Dianne, who was waiting for the team to gather for the investigation, raised her eyebrows upon receiving a message from an unfamiliar tablet ID.
"I'll be there first."
With just one sentence, she didn't bother to find out who sent it.
It had been over two weeks since the incident occurred in the Mulfery Dorms. Despite investigations by Dianne and several others, neither the cause nor a solution to the bizarre events had been found.
'I almost got caught up in it too.'
There was a possibility that her own experience was related to the incident. However, without knowing the cause, she couldn't be sure what had happened to her.
One thing was certain; it wasn't related to magic.
That's what puzzled her even more.
'If it's not magic, then the phenomenon can only be explained as a mana anomaly... But mana anomalies don't just happen suddenly; they gradually and naturally occur.'
Lost in thought, Dianne waited for the students who would participate in the investigation.
"Hello."
"Oh, I'm hungry. Did you order something?"
It was Kelly Hued, a senior from the graduating class, and Dianne's close friend, Yurie Kaltz.
Joining them for the investigation were four students, including Adrias, who had already agreed to meet in front of the Mulfery Dorms after their afternoon classes.
"Hello."
Dianne politely greeted Kelly, and then she glanced around.
"Who are we missing? Adrias?"
"Yeah."
"He said he'd be here first, but he's not here yet."
Just then, Dianne remembered the text message she had received just before.
She took out her tablet again and, upon inspecting it, realized that the writing style seemed somewhat similar to Adrias's.
"Yurie, did Adrias have a tablet?"
"Huh? Didn't he already have one? But he must be quite rich by now. Maybe he bought one."
"Just now, I got a message from an unknown ID that seems like it could be from Adrias."
Dianne showed the message to Yurie, who looked puzzled.
"Could this be from Adrias?"
"What did Adrias say?"
Inquisitive, Kelly asked, and Dianne quickly explained.
After hearing the explanation, Kelly immediately suggested, "Let's check it."
"How about we go to the Mulfery Dorms now?"
"But we haven't eaten yet..."
"Okay."
Dianne interrupted Yurie and immediately got up from her seat.
Yurie, who wanted to have lunch, pouted and followed them.
The three of them, heading to the Mulfery Dorms, soon encountered the security guards stationed there.
"Has Adrias entered here by any chance?"
"He entered a little while ago, saying he was going to investigate."
Their suspicions were confirmed.
Yurie had suggested entering the dormitory together with the knight students after observing the atmosphere, but Dianne had made up her mind to go in.
She had already experienced firsthand that this bizarre incident was far from ordinary.
She worried about why Adrias had entered alone with such confidence.
"It's lunchtime now, right?"
Yurie looked around with her hands on her arms.
As the atmosphere grew even more oppressive than before, Dianne immediately illuminated the surroundings with a light spell.
"Something's definitely off. Is the light not coming in?"
Kelly asked, and upon inspecting the surroundings, they found that all the windows in the hallway were covered with black cloth.
Since Yurie and Kelly had never been inside the Mulfery Dorms before, they didn't find it particularly strange. But Dianne knew better.
"They weren't there before."
"What?"
"The cloths. They weren't there when I came before."
Yurie, who had goosebumps from Dianne's words, tried to speak brightly.
"During the previous investigation, right? Maybe someone put them up after that?"
"Why would they cover the windows with black cloth? Who did it? Besides, not just anyone can come in here."
"That's..."
Finally realizing that something was indeed strange, the three of them gradually stepped back.
"Let's go out for now. We'll call the other members for the investigation that we agreed to do together."
"Yeah, Kelly's suggestion seems right. Let's get out for now."
Just then, an unknown scream echoed from inside.
"Aaaargh!"
"Adrias!"
Dianne sprinted towards the source of the scream.
Yurie followed her, and Kelly, unable to do otherwise, trailed behind them.
In their sight, an astonishing scene unfolded.
"Aaaargh!"
A man in robes was holding something in a black humanoid form with one hand while brandishing a sword in the other.
Upon closer inspection, they saw that Adrias had his fingers inserted into the grotesque thing's mouth while gripping its jaw. In that position, he stepped on the creature as if to crush it against the ground, all the while pointing the sword at it. Adrias turned around to glance at Dianne's group and, without saying a word, thrust the sword forward.
"Aaaargh!"
Yurie covered her ears at the grotesque scream.
"What the hell is that thing!"
The bizarre creature turned into smoke and dispersed.
Adrias, who had defeated the bizarre creature without a second thought, calmly stood up and said, "There are more."
Then he gestured, "Right behind you."