Chapter 80

Chapter : 80

Most of the rumors surrounding Agares were gossip so ridiculous they were not even funny.

He was not a monster, so why on earth would he eat human flesh, and why would he slice off people’s heads for amusement?

Anyone with even a little sense would snort at such stories.

But the rumors were not entirely groundless.

Agares was ruthless in his methods. He looked down on the value of life, and the moment he considered someone an enemy, he attacked. In that process, he created many enemies.

“It is certain that Agares has lost his power.”

“Is the information reliable? If this is false, we are all ruined.”

“Do I not look like I came from the Magic Tower? I have some knowledge of Dark Magic as well. As is known, Agares possessed the power of immortality. There are not many Devils with such authority, and if one of them would contract with a human, there is only one. Amadeus.”

“What does that have to do with him losing his power?”

“If we look at the incident that happened in the dining hall, it means the matter finally broke open. Amadeus descended.”

“Then why did no one die, you idiot?”

The man who had been rebuked wiped away the sweat gathered on his forehead and spoke.

“I could not watch until the end either, so I do not know that much. But what is certain is that Agares is fine because he broke his contract with Amadeus. Now that bastard has no power.”

“Hmm.... Good. Then let us confirm it lightly and move.”

“Confirm it? How?”

“Let us stab him and see whether he dies or not.”

---

At the Academy, the activities of outsiders other than students were restricted.

Unless they were a student’s family member or someone with duties related to the Academy, even entering was difficult. Because of that, families from various places enrolled their children without much concern.

Even so, incidents and accidents occasionally occurred.

It was because of debts and grudges formed outside the Academy. While moving to the lecture hall to attend class, I felt the ominous atmosphere and instinctively knew that something must have happened.

If possible, I wanted to find Navier and hear the circumstances of the incident, but class was close.

I had applied for a Beast Hunting-related lecture this semester as well, so I entered the lecture hall. Normally, Agares, who was unexpectedly diligent, would have been guarding the frontmost seat, but for some reason, his seat was empty.

When I asked Leo, who was sitting beside me, he spoke.

“They say he was stabbed on his way to school.”

“Ah?”

“They say the assailant was a laborer who had been doing building construction. Apparently, he ran out with a knife and stabbed him.”

“Was he badly hurt?”

“I only heard it from others, so I do not know well.”

“Where is His Grace?”

“He went to a priest.”

I immediately left the lecture hall again and went to find Agares.

Because there were many precious bodies in the Academy, a priest was stationed there, but their skill was lower than that of an ordinary priest.

The current Agares no longer had regenerative power, so if he had been stabbed badly, it could have been a fatal wound.

I moved with quick steps.

Agares was lying on a bed with clear bloodstains from his rhomboid muscle to his neck. Blood gurgled from the opened wound. The priest had placed a hand over it and was treating Agares.

“Ahh! This is driving me insane!”

The priest’s hand emitted pure white light and tried to treat Agares’s wound, but it was repelled. Was it because Dark Magic remained in Agares’s body? Looking closely, that was not it. Agares’s body properly absorbed the divine power.

It was poison.

There were many things I wanted to ask the priest, but I closed my mouth. He was the expert, and I did not want to distract him for no reason.

“Haha, you came?”

When Agares saw me, he laughed and spoke. I was about to ask if he was all right, but from a glance, he was clearly not all right, so I changed my words.

“Is it a wound that will kill you?”

“How would I know? Is it not something that depends on this priest here?”

The priest, who had been listening to our conversation, shook his head.

“He will not die. I have neutralized the paralytic poison, but the bleeding is not stopping well.”

“Then why do you look like death?”

“If a scar remains on Your Grace’s body, I will be... Ah, no, that is not it....”

“I do not care about something like that, so relax and do what you need to do. What does it matter if a scar remains?”

“Thank you.”

Agares breathed in deeply and exhaled the air as it was. Wrinkles formed between his brows.

“I thought about it while lying here. Who stabbed me? Hmm.... No matter how hard I thought, I could not tell. And then I sensed it. I am going to die.”

“We may be able to find the mastermind.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps not. I think it will be difficult, but let us say we do discover who instigated it. What happens then?”

“We catch the mastermind and punish them.”

“And then another new bastard will come out and stab me. I should have prepared for this day in advance.”

Agares had many enemies.

It was information I already knew. But I had been ignorant of who those enemies were and why he had so many. After all, he had possessed an Immortal Body, and there was no way anyone could do anything to him.

“For now, I need to return to my territory and find a method. I need something to protect my body.”

“How about placing guards around you?”

“I am thinking of that too. So this is how I face my karma. Hahaha....”

“How are you laughing at this?”

“I know. I should have lived a little more kindly.”

---

I left the Academy with Agares. I was serving as his escort until he returned to his territory.

I glanced at Agares as he drove his horse.

A scar remained from his neck. Judging by the wound, it looked as though the attacker had aimed for his neck, but Agares had twisted his body and taken the blow off-center.

The current Agares was weak.

To begin with, he had not obtained martial power by training his body, but had gained power all at once through his contract with Amadeus. Now that Amadeus’s power was gone, he was nothing more than a civilian with combat experience.

“It seems it will be difficult to continue attending the Academy after all.”

“Yes. Something like last time may happen again.”

Agares had killed many people. He had earned many grudges. Among them were people with powerful martial ability and nobles with authority. If he wanted to find escorts to protect himself from them, he needed knights of very high caliber.

The North had a standing army, but no knight order.

Because it was a remote territory, operating a knight order would cost more, and even if he offered higher salaries, skilled knights would avoid joining.

“How about purchasing Artifacts?”

“Yes, that will be necessary too.”

---

We moved north and faced two attacks. In both cases, I resolved them with magic before they came close, so there was no clash, but Agares seemed extremely stressed. Then, when we arrived near the territory, we faced the third attack.

The attackers up until now had at least covered their faces. They had worn masks or face coverings, but this time, they openly revealed their faces.

“I know that face.”

“Who is he?”

“His name is... Hmm... I cannot remember. But I remember his father clearly. He was a man who committed a crime and fled to my territory. He committed robbery in my territory as well, so I killed him.”

“It seems to be revenge.”

“Revenge over something like that? Is that not strange? I punished a criminal.”

Regardless of how much of Agares’s words was true, I attacked before the matter could grow larger.

Bang! Bang!

I fired Mana Bullets and pierced things like thighs.

“There is a mage!”

There were countless mages in the Empire, but few people actually used magic on the battlefield. That was how difficult it was to use magic in battle.

I fired a Flame Bullet and blew up the ground nearby, and Mana Bullets pierced arms and legs.

I chanted magic at the fastest speed I could. It was to flaunt my skill. When I displayed strength like this, most attackers fled.

“Aim for the head. Are they not all running in?”

I remembered what I had resolved again and again.

If the situation arose, I would move without hesitation.

SQUELCH! SQUELCH!

Fighting while protecting Agares was a dangerous adventure.

Before the enemies approached, I shot their vital points with Mana Bullets. Some knocked the Mana Bullets away with their swords, but most fell. Five of them approached within a stone’s throw.

Leaving Agares behind, I ran forward quickly and cut down four, leaving one alive. It was the man Agares had said he recognized. I tried to disable him by cutting his arm.

“Ah?”

He had unexpected strength.

Though it was not swordsmanship learned from a proper teacher, I could tell that he had trained desperately. Only certain sword forms were smooth to an unnatural degree, and his physical strength was outstanding, far beyond what suited his swordsmanship skill.

This kind of swordsmanship came from training alone with nothing but a manual, as though one’s life depended on it.

Of course, he was no match for me. Without even drawing out Sword Aura, I stabbed through the gap between his sword forms and pierced his arm. Since there might be a mastermind, I avoided vital points so he would not die.

Seeing this, Agares got down from his horse and walked over.

“That... What was your name?”

“You do not know my name?”

“You never told me your name, so how could I know it?”

The attacker forcibly gripped his sword with his bleeding arm. Moving the injured arm must have been painful, because his face twisted, but he forced himself to rise. He seemed furious that Agares did not know his name.

“I will kill you!”

He shouted and ran at Agares. I grabbed his collar from behind and kicked the arm holding the sword. He dropped the sword and groaned in pain.

“Hmm... I had something I was curious about, but now it is gone.”

Agares gripped the sword the attacker had dropped, approached, and skillfully cut off his head. Even though he had lost his power, he still had technique, because he separated the neck from the head in one stroke without catching on anything.

He looked at me and spoke.

“You worked hard this time too. I understand how you feel as well. Every time something like this happens to me, my heart aches too.”

“As if.”

“I am serious. Even if I killed only those who deserved to die, I know their families may think differently. But it is not as though I can massacre entire families, is it? My situation is so sad that tears are about to fall.”

Every time he told such stories, Agares made me uncomfortable. Perhaps he read that from my expression, because Agares spoke.

“Ever since you came to the Academy, you have trained with a sword every day, have you not?”

“Yes, that is true.”

“Why?”

“To protect my own body.”

“Exactly. You protect your body by killing other people.”

It was difficult to find a way to refute him without offending him, so I closed my mouth.

I escorted him to his territory, then returned to the Academy.