Chapter 7: First Revenge(3)

“You… lured me? To a place that would be my grave?”

“That’s right. I expected you to follow, once I contacted Eve.”

She rolled the crushed sugar clumps that smelled like cherry in her mouth and spat.

“Thank you for following the plan so well, you idiot Nathaniel.”

“You…!”

Nathaniel’s eyes trembled.

Her provocatively-chosen words worked better than expected.

As expected, the proud court magician.

His nose was high in the sky, and if she teased him a little, it would work instantly.

“I wasn’t going to torture you if you’d opened your mouth, but I’ve changed my mind. I’ll make you beg to die instead, you insolent bitch.”

Nathaniel opened his mouth, as if he was going to kill me.

Then, he snapped his fingers and said.

“I’ve cast a soundproofing spell around the area. Even if you scream like a pig, it won’t get out. So give up on the idea of asking for help.”

Then, he began to chant and prepare for an attack.

But I just watched what he was doing.

The 5th-rank magician, who was the closest aide to the Second Prince Ferdinand.

I wanted to gauge the level of his capabilities.

“Haaap!”

Nathaniel, who had just finished chanting, stretched out his left hand.

Then, glowing magic spheres appeared one after another on his palm.

And began to rush towards me like a stone thrown by a catapult.

‘Magic missile?’

A simple magic, but its power could not be ignored.

Especially since it was fired in rapid succession.

He definitely didn’t get the position of court magician with just gambling.

Watching the dazzling lights flying, I slowly closed my eyelids.

Then, I slowly prepared to respond, raising my right hand.

“Hmph, a mistake.”

The flash of an explosion, and the thick dust.

Nathaniel spat, irritated.

He should have interrogated me, but he got too excited.

He lost control and turned me into powder.

He was a distinguished magician who received the alias of Sagittarius.

The name of a constellation, which only those who are particularly outstanding can obtain. He was a genius.

That a woman, barely over her twenties, would dare to be arrogant to him?

The impertinence of the woman, who still smelled like milk, was such an unpleasant experience.

‘I can’t help it.’

Since it has come to this, taking Eve Vellam as a hostage seemed to be the best course of action.

Surely, Crowley Altra was concerned about that woman.

The fact that he sent this woman right away was a clear fact, wasn’t it?

As he thought, just as he was about to leave the place.

“…No?”

Suddenly, his expression was contorted.

Thump thump.

The woman in question walked out of the dust with amazing composure.

Even though he had attacked at maximum output, there wasn’t even a scratch.

How did this happen?

What trick did she use?

“Not bad. The 5th rank isn’t just a bluff.”

In a state of confusion, the woman calmly taunted.

“But it’s still no big deal.”

“Y-ieeeek!!”

Enraged, Nathaniel raised his left hand again.

The magic must have missed before.

How could it be possible that there was no damage after his attack?

This time, with care upon care, so as not to miss…

“Huh?”

A sharp sound of something being cut off.

At the same time, a long object flying into the air.

The moment it fell to the ground, Nathaniel felt a searing pain as he collapsed.

“Kuaaak-!!”

What was just cut off was none other than his left arm.

In the blink of an eye, one of his arms became disabled.

And even without knowing how he was injured.

“Y-you, you, you, you-!!”

With a scream of rage, Nathaniel raised his right arm.

But he would soon realize that this was just an act of giving away the other side.

“Kuaaak!!”

Nathaniel, with both arms cut off, slammed his forehead on the ground.

At the moment he lost his right arm, he saw clearly with his eyes.

The shadow cast at his feet.

From which a black blade sprang up, cutting off his bones and flesh at once.

“Black magic…!!”

Gritting his teeth in pain, Nathaniel muttered.

Black magic, which stands in stark contrast to white magic. And it’s even very powerful.

It was not a skill that a woman who would have just turned twenty could have possibly mastered.

Even those who have spent their entire lives mastering black magic, could not freely use this much power.

“You…! What is your identity!”

He shouted with bloodshot eyes, but there was no answer from the woman.

She just looked down at him with an icy gaze.

This kind of look was unbearable for Nathaniel.

He was a distinguished court magician on the verge of the 6th rank.

He would look down on others, but he could never be looked down upon.

But he was completely incapacitated and could not resist in any way.

And the next moment.

“Kurk!”

A tentacle rose from the shadow and entangled him.

Then, he was turned over and lifted into the air.

The blood pouring out from the cut areas soaked the soil like rain.

“You put up a good soundproof spell.”

The woman sneered at Nathaniel, staring.

“Thanks to that, there’s no chance of being disturbed. You can’t even shout for help outside, just as you said, right?”

“Ugh…you…!!”

Struggling with all his might, he couldn’t breathe, and he tried desperately.

But the more he moved, the tighter the tentacles constricted.

He was about to die of suffocation before dying of excessive bleeding.

The woman, staring at that figure, lifted her left arm.

Then, twitch, something began to appear along its trajectory.

Eventually, what was summoned from the woman’s left arm…

“H-hellhound?”

A Hellhound that eats the dead who committed sins in the underworld.

Among them, it was a Cerberus, a canine known for its excellence.

A hound with three heads was salivating from the left arm.

‘No, impossible!’

Looking at the Cerberus’s hungry eyes, Nathaniel shook his head.

You can’t summon beings from the underworld with ordinary black magic.

Although it is used for evil purposes, black magic is also a power that originates from this world.

Breaking the boundaries of life and death and drawing power from the realm of the dead was, even with black magic, a non-sense.

There was only one magic that could make it possible.

“Necromancy!”

Stunned, Nathaniel shouted, opening his mouth.

“Impossible! Witches, the witches who use necromancy are all dead! Except for that one little thing, all of the clan…!”

“That’s right. It was.”

With yellow eyes shining, the woman whispered ominously.

The gaze that was directed at him was like that of a grim reaper, and it was so chilling that it made his spine crawl.

“But since yesterday, things have changed. Thanks to you.”

“What? That’s impossible…”

“Still don’t get it, Mr. Court Magician?”

The woman pinched his cheek playfully.

“You stuck a light arrow in my stomach.”

In my stomach… a light arrow?

At that moment, a certain person came to mind.

A man who dared to peep at the weaknesses of his master, skillfully escaped the trap he had set, and made him nervous.

But…but this is impossible. It could not happen.

The gender of the witch standing in front of him was…

“Cerberus.”

“J-just a moment! Just a moment!”

Nathaniel’s frantic cry.

He struggled to say even one word.

He even tried to beg for his life in a subservient manner.

But, unfortunately, the witch’s patience was not that long.

The court magician Nathaniel lost all of his fighting spirit.

Looking straight at him, the woman ‘Crowley Altra’ gave an order.

“Eat.”

And Cerberus immediately executed the instruction.

The sound of bones breaking and flesh being crushed.

Hearing this, I watched Nathaniel’s corpse, going into Cerberus’s stomach.

It was a pitiful and humble end, unlike the man who once lived a glorious life.

But I didn’t kill Nathaniel just to indulge in sentimentality.

Nor was revenge the sole purpose.

My real purpose starts from the moment Cerberus digests him.

‘Done.’

Eventually, the magician’s body completely disappeared.

With this, I focused my mind and read his memories flowing to me.

Information absorption, one of the magic spells of advanced necromancy.

In the days of a low-ranking necromancer, all I could do was read some of the memories of the dead, but now I can accept the entire memory of the person I killed.

And by reading Nathaniel’s memories, I would undoubtedly be able to obtain the information I needed.

‘There must be one lead.’

I set aside unnecessary memories and muttered, skimming only the ones that seemed plausible.

Nathaniel was the closest aide to Prince Ferdinand. Naturally, he would assist him even after the academy’s entrance ceremony.

In addition, he was a man of very thoroughness.

There’s absolutely no way he didn’t make a ploy to plant someone at the academy.

Wouldn’t it be easier to support the prince if there were internal collaborators?

First, I need to figure out the direction of that ‘ploy’.

Whether it’s the act of dropping staff members with parachutes, or organizing personnel to follow the prince as his attendants. Honestly, the specific kind doesn’t matter.

The collaborator-planting operation that he had finally come up with.

I just need to grasp the whole thing and sneak in.

By the way…

‘I’m not quite strong yet.’

Is it because it hasn’t even been a day since I became a woman? The memories are more fragmented than I thought.

To give you an analogy, it’s like stubbornly reading a novel with torn and blurred parts.

Perhaps it’s a side effect of gaining such immense power out of the blue.

Even so, I was grateful that I had grown to this extent, and I was continuing to absorb the information.

“…Found it!”

Finally, I found a plausible memory.

It was the content that Nathaniel decided to send a letter of recommendation to the academy as an excellent graduate.

However, the memories were incomplete, and the exact circumstances were not visible.

For what reason did he get the opportunity to write a letter of recommendation? By what time was he supposed to send it?

And in detail, who was he going to recommend for which position?

‘Is it a recommendation for staff?’

He couldn’t possibly recommend a person with such a high position as a professor.

No matter how much he was a court magician, it would be impossible.

At most, he would introduce practical workers such as security guards or counselors.

The Klomes Academy is a treasure trove of learning where talented people from all over the world gather.

Isn’t it known that even simple staff members are recruited after a fairly rigorous examination?

‘Anyway, the level of staff is good for me too.’

If it’s a position that’s too good, it’ll attract unnecessary attention.

For the purpose of quietly planning revenge, and for the purpose of making a living, I have to refuse those kinds of offers no matter what.
It would be over if my being a necromancer were revealed.

“That’s enough, Cerberus. Vomit it out.”

I stroked the hound’s head, which licked its chops.

“I have to write the letter of recommendation before it’s too late.”