Chapter 1256 – 1256. Dark Moon
I brought a chair from the office and sat down in the hallway. Corpses were scattered in front of me, and behind me was the direction leading to the bathhouse. Since this was a one-way passage, if I blocked it here, no one could go back without my permission.
I stared at Venus’s head, lost in thought for a moment.
When I killed Venus, there was a slight sense of exhilaration and relief. It was the same even now, looking at Venus’s head. But it wasn’t refreshing. It felt like I had come out of the shower without properly drying the water off my body.
‘I know the reason. It must be because my revenge isn’t over.’
Venus was just a mid-level manager.
There was someone else who planned and executed the Battle Mage Project. Someone with a position so high that it would be an insult to compare them to Venus. And I know one of them.
Alpha Tear Pharmaceutical Company. The company that created mana essence and provided it to the military. They are my target for revenge.
I couldn’t just go and kill them recklessly. In my current state, if I attacked Alpha Tear, I would be crushed like a bug.
‘I need to grow stronger. To face Alpha Tear alone, I need to reach at least the 9th grade. If I openly confront Alpha Tear, the Freesel Kingdom will most likely step in….’
I couldn’t help but sigh.
I even doubted if I could ever finish this revenge. But I couldn’t just be satisfied here and end it. I will find and take revenge on those involved in the Battle Mage Project.
I stared at Venus’s head for a long time before closing my eyes.
As the doping effect of [Overload] wore off, extreme fatigue and pain surged at once. But the bigger problem was that my mana road was damaged.
Out of 50, 34 were intact. 16 were so badly destroyed that I couldn’t repair them on my own. To repair the 16 destroyed mana roads, I would have to find a special healer.
‘…This is serious. I can’t fight a long war like this.’
A 5th-grade mage has at least 80 mana roads. But I don’t even have half of that. It’s because I forcibly reached the 5th grade using drugs and overworked my mana roads with Overload.
‘A normal mage might have despaired, but I have the knowledge of the original story. I know a healer who can repair my mana roads, and I also know the locations of the treasures sleeping in this world and how to obtain them. It’s not a hopeless situation for me. It’s just… I need some time.’
I sighed. There was so much to do that I didn’t know where to start.
Step, step.
I opened my eyes at the sound of footsteps. There was no one in front of me. I slowly turned my head back. There, in her military uniform, was Number 31. Her purple hair was slightly wet, and her face was as expressionless as usual.
She was moving this quickly even after being hit by sleeping gas. I quietly admired her. I guessed it was probably thanks to the witch’s blood she possessed.
“You killed Instructor Venus.”
“Yeah. It was really hard. Number 31, are you going to kill me? Honestly, I don’t have the strength to fight you right now. If you’re going to kill me… just do it cleanly.”
I said, looking forward again. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t mind, but if I were to die at the hands of Number 31 or Number 212, I wouldn’t mind.
“…It reminds me of the old days. Back then. When the Dark Moon rose, you were the one who saved me after I went berserk and fell from the waterfall. I’ll repay that debt now.”
That had happened too.
“Should I say thank you for saving me?”
“That’s not what I mean. I never intended to kill you from the start. What I mean by repaying the debt is… I’ll take responsibility for my classmates, including Number 212.”
“……!”
I was surprised and turned to look at her. Number 31 was looking at me with a haughty expression, her arms crossed.
If it was her. If it was the daughter of Duke Reltiers, she was capable enough. I felt a little lighter.
“Thank you. Number 31.”
“There’s a condition. The Battle Mage Project. Don’t make it public. Bury the Battle Mage Project.”
“It’s for the sake of our classmates. You don’t want them to be harassed by the media either, do you?”
“…I’m included in those classmates, too.”
If the Battle Mage Project was buried, the one who would benefit the most wouldn’t be Number 31, but me. I would be branded as a rebel who killed his superior, a terrorist, and would have a bounty on my head. The Freesel National Army wouldn’t want to reveal the Battle Mage Project either. If they did, they would face international criticism, and human rights activists like hyenas would come running to extort money.
“Thank you. I’ll try my best to do that. I’m not the one in charge of this, so I can’t be sure… but the Battle Mage Project won’t be made public. Thank you so much, Number 31.”
“Irina.”
“Huh?”
“My name is Irina.”
She turned and walked towards the bathhouse. I watched her disappearing back and quickly said,
“Irina! My name is Eugene!”
•••
A week later.
Louis Billstein came to my hideout. By the way, he was the one who prepared the hideout I was currently staying in. It was in a remote village on the outskirts of the Freesel Kingdom.
“You look much better than when I saw you last time. I’m glad.”
“How did things go?”
“It went as you wished, Mr. Eugene. We negotiated with the Freesel National Army to bury the Battle Mage Project. Ah, all of Mr. Eugene’s classmates have been placed under the command of Number 31, Irina Reltiers. The military naturally tried to refuse, but… Duke Reltiers used his influence.”
“I’m glad things worked out. What about the pursuit of me?”
“There’s no reaction yet. But we can’t be complacent. There’s a possibility that special agents of the Freesel Kingdom are moving secretly.”
“Right. It’s better to leave this country.”
Louis said as if he had been waiting for it.
“Come to our Empire. We’ll provide you with an ID and a good mansion. In return, please join our company.”
“I told you that story before. I’m not going to the Empire.”
“I still don’t understand why. It’s not a bad offer, is it? The Freesel Kingdom can’t treat the Highst Empire carelessly.”
“Not just the Empire, but other countries can’t treat it carelessly either. The military power of the Empire is too strong. I’m sick of the military. Besides, isn’t Kaiser purging rebels? I have no intention of getting caught up in the purge by going to the Empire.”
Louis handed me a bag. I opened the bag and checked the contents. Seven dark holes in glass bottles and a bank card. A first-class ticket to Neo London. And a third-class Neo London citizen ID.
“I’m sorry, but why did you choose Neo London?”
“The Hapeil Republic… I killed quite a few of their soldiers there. As soon as I enter the Republic, they’ll target me. Divine France is more peaceful than Neo London, but I hate anything related to religion. The other countries are heavily influenced by the Freesel Kingdom, so they’re not safe.”
“So you chose Neo London by process of elimination.”
I linked the account to my watch and checked my assets.
“…Why is there only 50 million credits?”
“We spent 200 million to get the dark holes in that bag. We also spent 600 million to get the Play Road drug last time, and this time we spent 300 million to completely cryopreserve Venus’s head. After deducting Mr. Eugene’s ID, train fare, hideout usage fees, etc., the remaining money is 50 million credits. It was originally 4,757 credits, but I was generous.”
“……Your calculations are excessively accurate.”
“Haha. As a businessman, that’s a very welcome compliment. Ah, if you look at your citizen ID, I chose your last name arbitrarily.”
“Eugene Meyer. Not bad.”
“I was going to put Adolf… but it seemed like you didn’t like it, so I put in a common last name.”
“If it was Adolf, I would have thrown the citizen ID in your face.”
I got up from my seat.
“Are you leaving already?”
“There’s nothing to do here if I stay any longer.”
I packed my clothes and necessities into my bag. Since I didn’t have many belongings, packing was done in 5 minutes.
“Louis, do you believe in reincarnation?”
“Reincarnation all of a sudden? I don’t know much about religion or mythology.”
“It’s not that. I’m saying that because I recalled memories of my past lives in my dreams. Surprisingly, there wasn’t just one past life.”
“Haha. Is that so? Were you a noble in your past life?”
“…How did you know? I was the child of a count in my past life.”
“Oh. What was the name of your family? I’ll look into it.”
“Well, it became too blurry after I woke up from the dream.”
“That’s a rather pointless conversation to have before parting. If you need my help later, please contact me. I’ll help you.”
“For free?”
“In my dictionary, there are services, but there’s no such thing as free.”
Before leaving, I put on an identity mask. I planned to take it off after arriving in Neo London.
“I’m going.”
“Isn’t that too insincere for a goodbye?”
“We’re not in a relationship where we need to say a sincere goodbye.”
“You’re so cold. Well, please be careful. I have a feeling we’ll meet again later.”
I didn’t reply and waved my hand as I went outside.
