Chapter 117. Open Secret (3)

Aiden de Donatien.

When I saw his face at the entrance of the laboratory, I couldn't help but inwardly click my tongue in disbelief.

'What in the world did that fool, Corund, do with the situation?'

The barrier had been undone, yet Aiden himself was here.

I discreetly shifted my gaze to him.

He exuded a lethal intent as sharp as a blade and a dark aura reminiscent of poison.

It didn't feel like it would be as easily resolved as when I had previously slashed his eyes.

The menacing aura was merely a playground for 'Yulian'.

The poisonous aura that pricked the skin had become something I'd adapted to, feeling like mere amusement.

The problem was.

'I don't like it here....'

The location.

This was Aiden's laboratory, meaning it was likely filled with magic arrays that would be beneficial to him.

===

⇒ 〈Foresight〉 Detected an offensive magic array.

⇒ 〈Foresight〉 Detected a defensive magic array...

⇒ 〈Foresight〉 Detected a trap magic...

⇒ 〈Foresight〉 ...

===

See this.

As Aiden entered, the magic arrays linked to him began to gradually reveal themselves.

Damn it.

There were plenty of dangerous ones among them. Even though Yulian's body was sturdy, taking these head-on wouldn't leave me unscathed.

'... My goodness.'

Here was another problem.

Yulian's consciousness rejected the idea of fleeing or escaping from this place.

The body, unable to suppress its craving for battle and stimulation, couldn't ignore Aiden's numerous provocations.

'End it here.'

My body was being convinced.

'A body that acts before the mind.'

I didn't expect a strong ego to work this way.

Yet I agreed with Yulian's thoughts this time. It was time to bring this to a conclusion.

"An alarm I set up on the bookshelf went off, so I rushed here to see what was going on...."

Aiden spoke, leaning on his staff, as he let out a sigh and then became expressionless, but I could tell.

He was feigning calmness while a raging fury boiled within him.

Above him, something like a violent 'red haze' was visible.

"Aileen."

Bang──!

Aiden slammed his staff down hard, giving me a once-over before shifting his gaze to Aileen.

"Why are you here?"

"... I discovered this location while investigating the demon sightings in the slums."

"Why on earth would a Magic Tower mage do that?! It's a task for the royal hounds like Blind Eyes or the knights!"

To the ordinary person, the most pressing question would be why a 'Black Knight' was here, but Aiden seemed deliberately to exclude me from the discussion.

'Naturally... perhaps?'

There had been rumors floating around that the 'Black Knight' punished corrupt nobles and fought for the safety of the populace, but the reality was contrary.

The 'Black Knight' had long been acting to keep the 'Dawn Society' in check right from the start.

There was no way Aiden wouldn't know this.

That's why Aiden was trying to avoid talking to the 'Black Knight'.

A careless slip of the tongue could expose the Dawn Society, which needed to remain hidden for now.

"Curiosity is the duty of a mage, as you have always said, family head."

"Excessive curiosity leads to trouble, as the family head has also noted."

"I'd like to return those words to you, family head."

Aileen stepped forward, cutting Aiden off, making his face contort.

"Were you leading the demonization experiments here, Aiden?"

Her face was laced with disgust.

"If you conducted such inhumane experiments...."

"I have repeatedly told you not to judge magic by such moral standards!"

Bang!

With a face full of anger, Aiden struck the ground with his staff once more.

"I will overlook your unauthorized entry into my laboratory. So, come here."

He spouted nonsense and beckoned Aileen with his hand.

Despite Aiden's stern voice potentially intimidating the usual Aileen, she declined his words by shaking her head.

"What I witnessed today cannot be undone."

At Aileen's resolute response, Aiden clicked his tongue.

"Failing to uphold the family's mission properly... This is why I shouldn't have let a half-blood linger around."

Muttering to himself, Aiden extended his staff forward.

As a mage who wielded the metal element, sharp metals began to shoot out in all directions.

Swish. Swish.

Dodging or deflecting those was not hard at all.

Even Aileen, who was startled by Aiden's sudden attack, was able to protect herself with magic.

'Does he have a separate objective?'

I entertained that thought, but before long, my body had already leapt forward to close the distance with Aiden.

'Facing a mage of this magnitude, it's surprisingly easy.'

Is there some trump card? That question lingered briefly.

Yulian's instincts, which dominated my body, didn't stop moving forward to put an end to this ill-fated connection.

"It's dangerous there!"

Then Aileen's urgent voice from behind snapped my mind back to attention.

'Was it here?'

Underneath my feet, I noticed a magic array glowing subtly beneath the stone.

'Is this a trap?'

I quickly retreated backward, avoiding stepping on it as a blast sent fragments of metal soaring like an erupting volcano.

'That was close.'

Glancing once where the trap had been triggered, I refocused my gaze on Aiden.

Even though I had already detected it with 〈Foresight〉 before Aileen's warning, finding them all was a chore because they were so widespread.

By his look, he seemed ready to continue chanting spells non-stop.

Since that's what a mage does against a knight.

If only I could close in, victory would be easy, yet a mage allowing that approach would be utter folly.

'That's why.'

I had something prepared for this day!

In a swift motion

I focused all my energy at the tip of my sword, swinging the 'Moonstone Sword' as though sketching in the air.

The aura converted through the mana vein.

Slicing through the air with tangible force, Aiden's face morphed into shock.

'He must have thought this distance was safe.'

As the 'Sword Energy' hit Aiden's arm.

"Kraaaa!"

With a piercing scream, Aiden dropped his staff.

He rolled several times on the ground, frantic to retrieve the dropped staff.

After a brief moment of seeing me charging toward him, he abandoned the staff and fled with a pale face into the underground canal.

'... Is he actually going?'

Even a noble in appearance.

The sight of a man, who once proudly declared, 'I am the head of the Donatien family,' running tail tucked was only making me chuckle bitterly.

Letting him go... does it really matter...?

'No!'

As this weak thought surfaced, my grip on the sword trembled.

Both of my legs already began moving toward the direction where Aiden was fleeing.

'I must end it now.'

It wasn't about delivering justice to someone who regarded human lives so carelessly; it was for my own safety.

Since an opportunity had presented itself, I had to seize it.

***

Aiden, having committed the geography of the underground canal to memory, knew exactly what was where, what magics were present, and where traps were laid.

This unsightly retreat was part of utilizing all that....

'Damn it, damn it!'

It was merely a cowardly excuse.

Dropping the staff was due to incompetence; the aura slicing through the air and cutting into his arm also owed to poor skill.

'Why is the Black Knight even here...?'

Enduring the flowing pain, Aiden moved down the dark path.

'Aileen, she's in the same position.'

For the royal family to learn about illegal activities, either the Black Knight or Aileen must survive and escape from here.

Even if Aileen managed to escape and report today's events.

'My influence should suffice to make it as if it never happened!'

The issue lay with the Black Knight.

'I must ensure he meets his demise here.'

Losing the research log was a bitter loss.

So was losing the disciples who operated them.

But as long as he survived! If he could overcome this adversity!

He believed he could somehow make a comeback, Aiden thought.

And then.

Why Pintel. Why Gerard.

Why they were making such a fuss over the name Black Knight was beyond Aiden's comprehension.

But only today, the moment he faced the man's face.

He felt a slithering, personal kind of dread.

The world would term this 'fear', wouldn't it?

'I sensed an unusual obsession from him towards me. He'll definitely chase me to the end.'

Despite all the turmoil he caused, Aiden found no link with him. Still, the intense hatred he felt directed at him was undeniable.

Whoosh.

As a breath of air blew from somewhere, Aiden stopped.

In front of him was the end of the underground canal, a precipice leading to a dam.

In normal circumstances, it should have contained rainwater or river water, but the unused waterway constantly lay open.

Thus, it was akin to a sheer cliff, with no water pooled below.

'A fall would certainly mean death.' The moment he confirmed that.

From behind, a familiar voice sounded.

"A dead-end, huh."

Turning his head to face him again, Aiden felt his body go rigid.

'Could that really be... the sight of a hero from legends?'

Aiden thought perhaps demon-like, it would suit better.

"It's an impressive height. Think you'll survive that fall? If not, what was the point of running all the way here?"

"Shut up... you!"

Aiden's voice, filled to the brim with spite, barked back uncomfortably.

"What's your goal...!?"

"... World peace."

World peace?

What nonsense!

Aiden wanted to curse, but instead, he assessed the ground where the Black Knight stood.

'Get a little closer.'

Clenching his fist tightly, Aiden awaited the Black Knight's approach.

"What, do you have a grudge against me? If not, is it the 'Dawn Society' you're venting rage upon!"

His shout ringing with spite, the Black Knight neared.

Gripping the ominously dark sword that shot aura like magic, he moved slowly.

"If it's the latter... I can help. Information on the 'Dawn Society' and on the current manager...the Archbishop..."

"The current leader isn't the Archbishop but the High Pontiff now, isn't it?"

Aiden flinched mid-sentence.

"How, how did you..."

"There's a way to find out anything."

As the Black Knight stepped even closer, Aiden began measuring the distance between them.

One step, two steps. And the third.

The second his foot hit the ground, Aiden activated the 'Jewel Magic' set on the ceiling, detonating it.

Boom──!

With a thunderous sound, stone debris scattered all around, and dust obscured vision.

'Did it work....'

Hopeful with trepidation, he anticipated but inwardly questioned.

"Futile actions..."

The Black Knight's mutter echoed within the dust.

Aiden knew.

If he'd been someone who'd die from such a minor explosion, he wouldn't have been driven to this extent of strife.

"Nevertheless!"

But the trap Aiden set wasn't over yet.

With a squelching noise, something started pouring down from the ceiling.

Splat──!

Obscured by the scattered dust, it was the remnants from the 'demon experiment'.

Something collected to dispose of later, the waste of the experiment.

It was high in toxicity and saturated with demonic energy, making it ideal for killing someone.

"Arrrrggh!"

As a scream, akin to a death throe, sounded, Aiden broke into wild laughter.

"Ha, ha-ha-ha! Foolish... *cough*, *cough*!"

Chiick──!

The 'viscous residue' flowing from the ceiling toward the precipice belched dense 'demonic energy' like steam.

Such potent remnants of the Demon God's 'Residual Thoughts' would cause an average person, unrelated to demons, to have their entire mana vein twisted and corrupted.

Being lucky might lead one to become a 'demon' through 'Demonification', but that means loss of self and biological death.

"Damn bastard, you forced me to use something I had been saving up."

As the tension eased, Aiden allowed a vile curse to slip from his lips.

Usually, he was quick to chastise those who use such language as vulgar, but now it escaped uncontrollably.

"Next is Aileen. That clueless woman. Before anything, prioritize... the family's grudge..."

Mid-sentence, Aiden felt something awry.

Despite the 'viscous residue' still oozing from the ceiling, exuding its sinister 'demonic energy', its continued presence remained deeply palpable.

'What is it? What went wrong....'

And then, from amidst the oozing substances, a black silhouette emerged.

"G-gasp...!"

In that instance, Aiden almost lost his breath.

The Black Knight's figure should've been thoroughly doused by the 'Residual Thoughts', but oddly, he appeared undamaged, though his grotesque mask bore significant fractures.

"You should be thankful this isn't the day I decided to wear my precious coat."

"How-how are you unscathed!!!"

In a voice akin to thunder, Aiden screamed.

The 'Residual Thoughts' of the Demon God taint all living beings, converting them into soulless agents of the demon, demons themselves.

"That surplus of viscous was dumped over you, so how is your... ego... intact?!"

"I don't know."

This phenomenon completely overturned the research results he had accumulated so rigorously.

Rage filled Aiden at the negation of his data, but alongside...

Footsteps slowly approached, the Black Knight advancing.

Confronting the conflicting emotions of terror and fury, his knees felt weak as to whether to flee or fight.

"Perhaps, this cursed body just lacks anything one could rightly call 'ego'."

Aiden watched the Black Knight through eyes almost bloodshot.

Crack──!

With that, the cracked mask of the Black Knight began to splinter further.

Now exposing a familiar, vile slit-eye visage.

At the instant that face became fully visible.

Thud.

Aiden was pushed by the Black Knight's hand and plunged from the high precipice.

Cursing himself for not heeding Gerard's warning.

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