novelraw Chapter 13 : Chapter 13
Chapter 13 : Chapter 13
Chapter 13:
Verdo was leisurely clapping.
Even with traitors right before his eyes.
Even Jinfre, who withdrew his killing intent and composedly asked for a handshake.
I could only blink my eyes blankly while watching that scene.
“It seems you haven't grasped the situation yet.”
Verdo chuckled, climbed down from the windowsill, and landed on the floor.
Step.
Step.
One by one, people entered the abandoned building.
Every single one of them was a familiar face.
They were the instructors from Redstone.
“No way.”
My suspended thoughts began to rotate slowly.
‘Jinfre called me Alpha.’
To think that a suspect knows the codename of a top-secret mission.
It is an impossible thing.
‘Which means….’
All the questions led to a single possibility.
“Was all of this a test?”
“To think you’ve already forgotten my voice. That’s disappointing, Alpha.”
One of the instructors laughed mischievously.
I felt a sense of déjà vu from his voice.
“…Codename Beta?”
“You finally recognize me.”
“For your information, I was Gamma.”
“And I was Epsilon.”
The instructors revealed their identities one after another.
‘…I had no idea at all.’
The communicators transmit voices within a limited frequency range.
That way, the transmission speed is fast.
In that process, the voice delivered through the communicator inevitably feels narrower and more distorted than the actual one.
…There might be such a reason, but the instructors likely also cleverly disguised their voices in their own way.
To hide their identities.
“A Prominence must constantly prove their qualifications. You haven't forgotten that, have you?”
Verdo's single word.
It was a saying I had heard until it grew calluses in my ears.
“Then, these people too…?”
My gaze tilted toward the Republic soldiers.
They, who had glared as if they would kill me at any moment, were snickering as if that had never happened.
“They are agents of Obsidian. They would be unfamiliar faces to you. Since their stage of activity is the Republic.”
It was as Jinfre said.
They were people I had never encountered even once since joining Obsidian.
Obsidian is an agency that investigates and eliminates elements that hinder the Empire.
The Empire's main enemy is the Republic.
Obsidian agents who secretly infiltrated the Republic would be numerous.
‘I was completely fooled.’
I let out a hollow laugh.
Because of the slurred accent, I was certain they were Republic bastards.
Even that was a deception.
‘To think all of this was a test.’
I hadn't even expected it.
Verdo, who proposed the mission.
Jinfre, who played the role of the suspect.
Even the numerous watchers like Beta and Gamma.
‘That many personnel were mobilized for a play? For me alone?’
Looking back, it wasn't that there were no strange points.
‘To entrust the monitoring of the Obsidian Captain to a mere cadet. Isn't the difference in level too severe.’
Although watchers were attached as support, the primary subject of the mission was strictly me.
It was a mission too heavy for a single cadet to handle.
“You endured well.”
Verdo patted my shoulder.
‘I was perfectly deceived.’
I wasn't angry.
Rather, I was grateful.
I felt like I had been dramatically rescued from the edge of a cliff.
‘What if I had been influenced by anti-imperialist thoughts?’
Or what if I had succumbed to Jinfre's threat and opened the way?
What kind of fate would have been waiting?
‘I would have been disposed of.’
A chill ran down my spine.
It wouldn't have stopped at merely being stripped of the Prominence qualification.
“There is no one who does not fear death. Humans are born cowards who burst into tears the moment they come out of the womb. However, a Prominence is not human. They have a duty to overcome even death.”
Verdo said stoically.
This mission was a test to verify that.
‘After becoming a Prominence, I thought I had grown accustomed to death.’
…It was a delusion.
The moment I faced Jinfre, who dealt with me in earnest, I finally realized it.
It wasn't that I was not afraid of death.
It was just that I hadn't truly confronted a situation where my life was threatened until now.
“The sun will set soon.”
Verdo gazed beyond the window.
“Before dispersing, we should settle what needs to be settled clearly.”
The loosened atmosphere became taut like a rubber band in an instant.
‘Is the test not over yet?’
I felt tension creeping in again.
Step.
Step.
Verdo moved his steps slowly.
‘Did I make some mistake?’
Every time he took a step, my heart also thumped along with it.
Contrary to my worries, Verdo no longer glanced at me.
Before long, he stopped his steps.
In front of the Obsidian agents who had played the Republic soldiers.
“…Is there something more you have to say?”
The leader spoke cautiously.
Coldly frozen air.
The soldiers glanced at each other.
“Do you still not know? Why I am doing this.”
Verdo, who was slowly scanning the faces of the soldiers with his eyes.
Soon, his pupils were fixed on the leader.
“You, what is your name?”
“Haha. Don't you already know?”
The leader talked playfully, but Verdo's firm expression remained unchanged.
“I won't ask twice.”
A pair of pupils as sharp as coastal cliffs.
Could someone even kill a person with just a glance?
I even had such a thought.
“Captain…?”
The leader requested help from his direct superior, but.
“…….”
Jinfre was silent.
“…I am Gary Berthio.”
“I asked for your real name.”
“I don't know what you've been talking about for a while now.”
As Verdo's interrogation continued, displeasure gradually appeared on the leader's face.
“Gary Berthio is dead. Your real name is Uric Anbert. A Republic rat who murdered Gary and disguised yourself with his identity. Am I wrong?”
Cracks occurred on Gary's expression. It was precarious as if it would break at any moment.
“…You have a rich imagination. I am innocent!”
“There is a way to verify the truth of your words.”
Verdo raised a finger and pointed at Gary's left chest.
“Show the Covenant of the Heart-Scar.”
If he were the real Gary, the Covenant of the Heart-Scar would exist on his chest.
Because Gary is an agent of Obsidian.
If he is a fake, there won't be a Covenant of the Heart-Scar.
He couldn't have engraved it just to avoid the Empire's suspicion.
Because even if he wouldn't get his identity discovered, he wouldn't be able to leak Obsidian's secrets to the Republic.
“…….”
Gary's face crumpled like paper.
Silence equals affirmation.
Verdo no longer interrogated Gary, no, Uric.
He merely gestured toward the instructors without a word.
Step.
The instructors surrounded Uric.
Only then did I realize.
The reason Verdo had brought his subordinate instructors more than necessary.
The rest of the agents who were by Uric's side also naturally distanced themselves from him.
They didn't even look particularly flustered.
An attitude as if they had been waiting for this very moment.
Did they also already know the truth about Uric?
“Damn it.”
Uric let out a low curse.
An expression as if he had already resigned himself.
The next moment, his entire body became blurred like an afterimage and then changed into a different shape.
To be precise, he returned to his original shape.
Polymorph.
It is a 4th Circle magic.
To be able to use magic of this level.
He must be a wizard whose name is quite well-known within the Republic.
‘My current self would be no match for him.’
I bit my lip.
He is a skilled person on a different dimension from the wizard I faced on the Eastern Outskirts Front.
Fortunately, I am not alone right now.
A situation where more than ten Prominences, including Verdo and Jinfre, are standing firm.
There is no chance of victory for Uric.
‘Even if we leave out the numerical inferiority, the result will not change.’
I was certain of it.
Verdo or Jinfre.
Even if only one of the two remained, they had enough ability to toy with Uric.
Besides that, there is another reason Uric is at a disadvantage.
Polymorph is magic that transforms one into another person's appearance.
Instead, a fatal weakness exists.
‘It is magic with extreme mana consumption.’
In other words, the moment one's identity is discovered, it's over.
Because he would have exhausted a considerable amount of mana in the process of maintaining the transformation.
Currently, Uric's preserved mana would be less than half of his usual amount.
The guy's expression was resolute.
As if anticipating death.
There is nowhere for him to run.
Because he was surrounded on all sides.
Schwing.
Uric pulled out his weapon.
It was a thin and long rapier like a metal skewer.
‘Spellsword?’
Republic wizards are divided into two types.
The first is the type that shuns close combat and pours out magic from medium to long ranges.
The typical wizard, 'Pure'.
The wizard I assassinated previously also belonged to the Pure category.
The next is 'Spellsword'.
They are skilled in close combat.
Magic is a supplementary concept.
They are warriors disguised as wizards.
Uric began to mutter quickly in a low voice.
At first, I thought the guy was babbling meaningless monologues.
Only after seeing the blue mana rising across Uric's entire body did I realize he had cast magic.
The casting speed is fast.
The operating method itself is different from the Pure, who aims for a single heavy long-range blow.
Uric, who finished multi-casting in an instant.
He finished preparing for battle.
Diversely colored auras wavered on his body.
He had strengthened his body with magic.
However, it seemed that to someone, that split second felt tedious.
“Are you done?”
Jinfre, who had reached Uric's face at some point.
“Ugh!”
A flustered Uric hurriedly distanced himself.
A magic circle was generated from his left hand.
Crunch!
A bundle of vines popped out abruptly from under the ground.
They tried to bind Jinfre's ankles with a ferocious momentum.
Jinfre bypassed the vines easily by accelerating instantaneously.
Having surged in front of Uric's eyes, he drew his twin-bladed sword diagonally.
Skreeeee!
The twin-bladed sword was blocked by Uric's Force Field.
In that process, fierce sparks flew.
That was also only for a moment.
Crunch!
Jinfre put strength into the hand holding the sword.
The layered Force Fields were shattered sequentially.
Clatter.
Uric's rapier fell to the floor.
Along with his entire right hand that was holding it.
Drip.
Drip.
Red blood soaked the floor.
“Aa, aaaargh!!”
Uric, distorted with pain, wailed while clutching his empty wrist.
It was over.
The guy completely lost his will to fight.
Jinfre did not stop there.
Slice.
Uric's entire body tilted sharply to one side.
An additional amputated body part was added.
This time it was the ankle.
Since he even lost his ankle, running away would be an impossible dream.
Did the pain exceed the limit?
The guy couldn't even scream properly.
He only exhaled a choking sound while gasping.
A 4th Circle wizard was neutralized in an instant.
Jinfre, who retrieved the twin-bladed sword, crouched in front of the fallen guy.
“Of all places, you infiltrated Obsidian. You should have looked for somewhere else.”
Obsidian is a professional agency in this field.
If Uric had infiltrated somewhere else, he might have been able to endure at least a few more months.
“We will take this guy into custody.”
Verdo said.
Originally, interrogating a discovered spy is Obsidian's specialty field.
However, this case was an exception.
Since a spy was discovered after sneaking into Obsidian, it is right for another agency to handle it.
Obsidian agents, like it or not, are entangled in a relationship with Uric, so they are not suitable as interrogators.
“Bind him.”
Verdo instructed coldly.
Uric's life line will be attached for the time being.
Because there is a lot of information to be gained from him.
It wasn't something to be relieved about just because he saved his life for now.
Because days that would make him think it would be better to die instead would be waiting.
***
"What will become of me from now on?"
I asked Jinfre cautiously.
I ended up being put to a test as soon as I joined Obsidian.
“What do you want to do?”
Jinfre answered a question with a question.
“The fact that you belong to Obsidian is still valid. Although the final decision is up to you.”
“I will stay.”
“Then I should engrave it again.”
“Engrave what?”
“I mean the Covenant of the Heart-Scar.”
So he knew everything after all.
I recalled the time I worried alone to remove the Covenant of the Heart-Scar.
“I didn't know you would go that far.”
“Go that far with what?”
As I asked, Jinfre, who was walking side-by-side, tilted his head.
“Drinking alcohol every day must have been to portray a lax appearance on purpose. I was completely fooled.”
“I normally drink alcohol every day, though. Didn't I tell you before? That there is no better refuge than alcohol.”
“…Then do you mean you were an alcohol lover from the beginning?”
I naturally thought it was an act.
Because he is a Prominence.
The fact that one must constantly prove their qualifications is the same for Jinfre.
To do that, self-management is essential.
“Then the cigarettes too…?”
“They taste good.”
He really is an unpredictable person.
“I don't like lying.”
Jinfre drew a smile on his lips.
“For someone who says they hate lying, you were quite sharp with your remarks criticizing the Empire.”
It was just a remark thrown out as a joke.
However, Jinfre did not laugh this time.
“Hmm. I certainly was.”
***
I visited the Redstone Academy after a long time.
It was to pack my luggage from the dormitory.
Since the dispatch mission became the primary thing, there was no need to stay in the Redstone dormitory.
There are also lodging facilities in Obsidian.
I would have to stay there for the time being.
Therefore, I intended to move the items I needed immediately to that place.
The dormitory was hollow.
‘No one is here.’
Everyone must be spending busy days at their respective dispatch locations.
While heading to my room along the hallway.
“……?”
I felt a strange sense of heterogeneity.
…I could soon tell.
What the reason was.
The cadets' private rooms each have a nameplate hanging.
‘There was a time when nameplates existed on every private room.’
As time passed and the number of cadets decreased, the nameplates of the private rooms that lost their owners also gradually disappeared.
The number of classmates who survived to this day is 13.
However, there are only 7 nameplates existing now.
I pulled the doorknob of a private room whose nameplate had disappeared.
Creak.
The door opened without resistance.
If it were a room with an owner, the lock would have been thorough.
The interior of the private room was empty.
There was not even a trace of anyone staying there.
As if nothing had ever existed from the beginning.
‘It seems the test has ended.’
I was certain.
‘The classmates were also given a test similar to mine. A test with their lives on the line. The fact that they couldn't pass it means….’
There was no need to think further.
…I quietly closed the door.
It was around that time.
Beep.
Beep.
The communicator I had put in my uniform pocket rang.
-Have you packed all your luggage?
It was Jinfre.
“I just arrived at the dormitory. It won't take long.”
-Please come to the headquarters as soon as you're organized.
There is a mission I'd like you to handle.
Finally.
The first mission in Obsidian.