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Chapter 64: Interlude (2) - The Scar of the Spider

A week had passed since I accomplished the impressive(?) feat of ranking 253rd out of 253 candidates in the warrior department.

The fiery discussions that had engulfed the school about the midterm evaluations had started to cool down.

I was summoned by Professor Elisha and headed to her office.

“You’ve come.”

As I entered the office, Professor Elisha, dressed in her usual neat black suit, greeted me while crossing her legs.

“What is it about?”

“The investigation results are in.”

“…Investigation results?”

She continued, glancing nonchalantly at the thick stack of documents in her hand while holding a cigarette.

“As expected, the crocodile and wolf demonic beasts that appeared in the exam hall were familiars of the Archbishop of Beasts, Jackal.”

“…Jackal.”

The involvement of an archbishop—a worst-case scenario that I had anticipated among the possibilities.

‘I don’t know if the future has changed or if I missed it in my past life.’

But one thing was certain: once again, an archbishop-level demon was scheming something within the school.

“Have you figured out his purpose?”

At my question, Professor Elisha took a deep drag from her cigarette and shook her head softly.

“I’m not sure. But… there was one peculiar demonic beast.”

“A peculiar demonic beast?”

So, aside from the crocodile and wolf demonic beasts, there was another?

“This one.”

Exhaling smoke, Professor Elisha opened a drawer and pulled out a strange creature.

It resembled a leech.

At its center was a tiny eye, smaller than a fingernail, blinking as if it were a sucker used for draining blood.

“This is….”

“This demonic beast was attached to Cadet Yuren’s body.”

“It was attached to Yuren?”

That couldn’t be.

I had placed a barrier around Yuren myself to repel demonic beasts.

While the barrier wouldn’t work on creatures with multiple eyes, this leech-like demonic beast only had one eye.

There’s no way it could have bypassed the barrier to get near Yuren.

“Ah.”

A faint sound escaped my lips.

‘Come to think of it, the crocodile demonic beast broke the barrier in the middle of the fight.’

If so, then during the battle after breaking the barrier, that leech-like demonic beast must have attached itself to Yuren’s body.

“……”

“Hmm. It seems Cadet Dale has realized as well.”

Professor Elisha narrowed her eyes as she spoke.

“I have no concrete proof, but I believe that the sudden rampage of the crocodile demonic beast was intended to allow this ‘leech demonic beast’ to get close to Cadet Yuren.”

The crocodile demonic beast’s purpose was to break the barrier I had created?

‘Now that I think about it, the moment it sent me flying, it immediately destroyed the barrier.’

At the time, I thought it destroyed the barrier to get closer to Yuren, but the crocodile demonic beast was of a level that wasn’t affected by the “demonic beast-repelling barrier” at all.

‘It didn’t need to break the barrier in the first place.’

Yet, the crocodile demonic beast broke the barrier surrounding Yuren’s body—as if that had been its goal all along.

‘Wait, could it be that the crocodile demonic beast didn’t appear in my past life because there was no barrier back then?’

It felt like the scattered puzzle pieces were starting to fit together.

I narrowed my eyes as I continued to think.

‘Jackal’s wolf demonic beasts existed in my previous life, too.’

Wasn’t my first experience with death when my neck was bitten by one of those wolves?

‘In other words, even in my previous life, Jackal had released his familiars in the exam hall.’

So why did Jackal release the wolf demonic beasts into the exam hall?

‘He was trying to find Yuren.’

Wolf demonic beasts, known for their keen sense of smell and speed, are optimized for tracking, and thanks to their pack behavior, they can work together, making them ideal for a "search" mission.

‘In my past life, after finding Yuren, they would have attached that leech demonic beast to him at an opportune moment.’

But this time, a variable had appeared—a new factor in the form of "Dale Han," who suddenly showed up and created a demonic beast-repelling barrier around Yuren.

‘That’s why they sent out the crocodile demonic beast, which wasn’t originally intended to appear.’

To break my barrier and allow the leech demonic beast to get close to Yuren.

“Hah.”

A low chuckle escaped as I realized the true nature of the situation.

‘What on earth is that leech demonic beast, and why are they so desperate to attach it to Yuren?’

I inspected the squirming leech demonic beast in the glass jar, but aside from its grotesque appearance, I couldn’t discern anything else.

I looked toward Professor Elisha, hoping she knew more.

“I don’t know what abilities this leech demonic beast has either.”

“Even with the Blessing of Insight?”

“If my blessing could uncover every secret in the world, I wouldn’t need to investigate things so discreetly.”

Professor Elisha let out a bitter laugh and sighed deeply.

“In any case, that’s all I’ve discovered.”

Though I figured out that Jackal released demonic beasts to attach the leech to Yuren, the more important question of "Why Yuren?" remained unanswered.

“There’s no clue to track down Jackal?”

“I’m afraid not.”

Professor Elisha absentmindedly touched the scar across her left eye with a somewhat bitter expression.

“Is that scar related to Jackal, by any chance?”

“…Why would you think that?”

“You touch the scar every time you talk about Jackal.”

“Ha, are you connecting me and Jackal just because of that?”

Professor Elisha gave a laugh, seemingly finding the idea absurd.

In reality, I had picked up on the connection due to memories from my past life, but I didn’t bother to explain.

“……”

Professor Elisha remained silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

“…When I was young, I was born in a small village tucked away in a remote part of the Empire.”

She lit a new cigarette, the spark briefly flickering as it ignited.

“It was a nameless little village.”

Puffs of smoke drifted into the air.

“One day, that a demon completely wiped out peaceful village.”

“……”

There was no need to ask who that "demon" was.

“The reason? He wanted to test the power of a newly enslaved demonic beast.”

As the cigarette slowly burned, its ember glowed red, like the blood-soaked memories etched in her mind.

“It took less than 10 minutes to massacre the 100 or so villagers.”

In just 10 minutes, her entire life had been shattered, her world destroyed beyond repair.

"I was lucky to have survived, somehow."

He brushed the scar near his left eye with a self-deprecating smile.

"...Though I\'m left with this hideous scar."

"......"

"Haha, don’t make such a serious face. It’s a common story."

Professor Elisha shrugged nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal.

Suddenly, a memory from a past life flashed through my mind.

The story of how "Elisha Baldwin, the Spider of the Dread," had slain the Beast Archbishop, Jackal, before meeting a tragic end.

Beyond the story I had once heard so casually, the harrowing life of a woman played out in my mind.

‘A common story, huh...?’

She wasn’t wrong.

There were countless people across the continent whose lives had been crushed by demons.

No great twist, no heart-pounding epic, no tear-jerking tragic ending.

It’s an unremarkable tragedy.

It’s a mundane catastrophe.

One of the countless, ordinary tragedies that happen everywhere in the world.

‘But…’

Just because it\'s common doesn\'t mean it\'s not painful.

Just because it\'s predictable doesn\'t mean there are no wounds.

"Hoo."

Professor Elisha smoked her cigarette with a nonchalant expression.

I wasn’t sure why, but I instinctively reached out towards her.

"What are you...?"

"Hold still."

Ignoring the startled expression on her face, I gently traced the scar across her left eye.

"...Cadet Dale. Do you know what you\'re doing?"

Touching a professor without permission.

It was a rude action that could warrant punishment.

As Elisha glared at me fiercely, I let out a slight smirk.

"It’s pretty."

"...What?"

"You said earlier that it was a hideous scar. But looking at it now, I think it suits you."

"......"

"What should I call it... A wild charm? Without it, your appearance might have been a bit bland."

"You..."

Elisha, about to say something, trailed off and bit her lip.

"Ahem!"

Clearing her throat awkwardly, she quickly turned her head away.

Through her short black hair, I could see the tips of her ears turning as red as apples.

"Honestly... The cadets these days seem to lack any respect for their professors. It’s the end of times, really. In my day, the thought of touching a professor would never even cross our minds! But now? To touch a professor\'s body without permission? And then to say it’s pretty? That the scar suits me? Is that something a cadet should say to a professor? If I must admit... It felt a little nice, but still, this is absolutely unacceptable..."

She mumbled under her breath, her voice growing quieter as she kept her head down.

"Professor Elisha?"

"Eek!"

Startled, Professor Elisha jumped up from her seat.

Her expression, usually as calm and indifferent as stone, was now lively and full of emotion as she spoke.

"A-anyway! The investigation into Jackal will continue, so Cadet Dale, make sure to cooperate!"

With that abrupt order, Professor Elisha bolted out of the office as if fleeing.

"......"

Left alone in her office, I snuffed out the cigarette she had half-smoked and leaned back in the chair.

"Jackal, huh."

I thought that perhaps the people I need to look after in this life are not only my comrades from my previous one.

* * *

A massive demonic beast, so large it looked like a mountain made of fur, moved as if alive.

On top of the demonic beast, which had eleven eyes, sat an old man.

"Hah. How pitiful."

The old man let out a low sigh as he gazed at his palm, engraved with complex patterns.

Part of the pattern, as if skinned away, had been erased.

"Tsk tsk. It was a cherished one."

Despite the seemingly regretful words, the old man’s gaze upon the erased pattern was as indifferent as someone looking at a crushed ant corpse on the road.

Wuuuuuung!

The space near the old man began to distort, and a young man with snow-white hair appeared.

The youth approached Jackal, walking as if on invisible platforms in midair, and bowed courteously.

"There you are."

"Oh, you’ve come?"

"Yes, it’s been a while, Lord Jackal."

The white-haired youth smiled and adjusted his golden monocle.

"How did the task I requested go?"

"Haha, who do you think I am? Of course, it was a success. Though, a bit of trouble did arise."

"Trouble?"

"Crocker is dead."

"Crocker?"

The white-haired youth searched his memory at Jackal’s words.

"Ah, you mean that crocodile demonic beast?"

"Indeed."

"Ha. Your naming sense is as sharp as ever."

"Hm? What’s wrong with the name Crocker?"

Jackal blinked, genuinely puzzled, while the youth merely shrugged silently.

"By the way, the fact that a Class-A demonic beast died in a cadet exam... Did a professor intervene?"

"Heh heh. How could mere cadets kill Crocker? It was, of course, a professor."

"Then it\'s likely Elisha Baldwin."

"Yes, that cunning spider woman managed to step on my tail."

"Well, as you said, Lord Jackal, that does sound troublesome."

"Indeed."

Jackal clicked his tongue in irritation, his wrinkled brow furrowing.

"That girl is pitiful too... She must have witnessed her parents being torn apart right before her eyes at such a young age."

"......"

The white-haired youth frowned, visibly displeased as he watched Jackal feign sympathy.

"Let’s get back to the main point."

"Ah, yes. Well... Though some trouble arose, I found what you were looking for."

Jackal let out a grating, unpleasant laugh as he pressed down on the symbol engraved on his arm with a finger.

As the symbol faded, blood oozed from his finger.

Licking the blood, Jackal continued speaking.

"As you suspected, Yuren Helios bears not the ‘Sun God’s’ stigma, but the ‘Moon God’s’ stigma."

"Hmm, I see."

The white-haired youth smiled as he adjusted his golden monocle.

Jackal turned to the youth and asked,

"Does this even matter? After all, even with the ‘Moon God’s’ stigmata, one can still wield the Sun Sword, right?"

"Haha. Who knows? Do you think she will see it that way?"

The youth smiled meaningfully and shrugged.

"Mephisto, what are you planning?"

"You’ll see soon enough."

The Archpriest of Corruption, Mephisto, smiled brightly as he gazed at the distant Helios mansion.

"When the sun devours the moon."