Outside the window, the cold autumn moonlight spilled over the ancient stone walls, while the warm lamplight inside shut out the chill and desolation.
No matter how fiercely the mountain winds howled outside Lichtenstein Castle, no matter how deep the night grew, the bedroom remained as warm and steady as ever.
The room was silent for a moment.
“……”
Lan Qi rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought after listening to the intelligence report from the priestess Stisela.
Arriving within the next two days…
And capable of staging an “accident” within the academy…
Why did this timing feel so suspicious?
“You don’t mean this dangerous person is mixed in with the academic delegation from the Kingdom of Yaloran, do you?”
Lan Qi asked Stisela.Wasn’t the timing exactly the same as the arrival of Yaloran’s academic exchange team?
Any outsider with a suspicious identity trying to stir trouble inside Ikerite Academy—an academy teeming with the strong and under heavy security—would be spotted within minutes. The only way to execute a flawless assassination was to carry a glamorous, legitimate identity!
Lan Qi couldn’t shake the feeling that Stisela had just given him a piece of incredibly important intelligence.
If the cult had used hidden local civilians to infiltrate the academy where High Priest Loren resided, the risk would have been immense—any trace leading back would risk the entire line being eradicated.
But if it was done through the Yaloran delegation, it was different. If something happened among Yaloran’s students, the Kingdom of Yaloran would take the blame first, and it wouldn’t necessarily implicate the Resurrection Church. It might even erode the trust between the two nations!
Should the Kingdom of Hedon wish to pursue an investigation further, it would inevitably escalate into an international incident.
One way or another, friction was guaranteed.
Since the disappearance of Duke Migaya Aransal, holder of the Primordial Tablet – Darkness, the Kingdom of Hedon had relied on High Priest Loren, holder of the Primordial Tablet – Wind, to guard against Destroyer Bishop Ivanos, holder of the Primordial Tablet – Fire.
Meanwhile, Yaloran depended on the Undying Sword Saint Juliana, wielder of the Primordial Tablet – Regeneration
, to resist the Rotting Bishop Farmer, bearer of the Primordial Tablet – Corrosion.If Huperion were to be assassinated and her death became the fuse, the Resurrection Church could easily fan the flames from the shadows. The already tense relationship between High Priest Loren and Yaloran’s knight commander, the Undying Sword Saint, would surely worsen.
At that point, the two great bishops of the southern continent might well launch another joint offensive!
Such intelligence, tied to the turbulence and conspiracies of the entire southern continent, was invaluable. Even just reporting it directly to Dean Loren would earn Lan Qi immense merit.
“Eight or nine chances out of ten…”
Stisela admitted gravely. By sharing this intel, she had staked her very life on Lan Qi.
If Lan Qi betrayed her, she was as good as dead.
But in exchange, this information was worth at least as much as him saving her life.
Now everything depended on Lan Qi’s conscience—and his ability.
Then, a magic card materialized in Stisela’s hand, drawn out from her soul-space. She gestured for Lan Qi to take it.
[Resurrection’s Proof – Destruction]
- Type:
Equipment Card
- Grade: Purple – Rare
- Attribute: Link
- Tier: 0
- Effect:
A certificate of identity for the Resurrection Church. Can be altered or upgraded with a Bishop’s Proof. If the bearer kills a bishop, it will upgrade into a Bishop’s Proof and unlock bishop-level authority.- Note: Bearer—, ID—, encrypted.
“So this is the Resurrection Church’s identity seal?”
Lan Qi took the card from her.
Because it was a zero-cost card, it had escaped his earlier sweep of her magic cards.
Stisela, with her secret mission and perfect infiltration into the mortal world, was a model elite cultist. Her identity was hidden so deeply that apart from her direct partner or commanding bishop, even other bishops wouldn’t know her.
If Lan Qi captured someone like her—perfectly hidden, flawlessly loyal—he could steal and assume her identity as a southern continent cultist, and then sneak into northern branches under other cardinals. With magic communication severed between north and south, unless the northern bishops physically crossed the sea to hold a meeting, there’d be no way to verify the authenticity of his cultist identity!
“As for the one in your academy passing along Shadow World synchronization intel—I don’t know their identity. But anyone who can use communication magic must be at least tier six. I can, however, tell you the exact times we received intel about the last two Shadow World openings. You’ll have to deduce the rest yourself.”
Stisela added nervously.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let the Resurrection Church suspect you leaked this intel.”
Lan Qi’s voice grew serious as he gave his solemn promise with a nod.
When he returned to reality, he would have a new mission at Ikerite Academy—
To catch that brazen Resurrection cultist hiding among the Yaloran exchange team!
Such audacity! To dare commit murder right under his nose!
Lan Qi swore he would defend his academy—every evil would be brought to justice.
Beside him, Huperion kept her head lowered, not daring to look up. Even Lan Qi’s very aura now seemed heavy.
At last, her voice slipped out in a whisper, faint as smoke:
“…Sorry, Lan Qi… always dragging you into trouble…”
Her words were steeped in guilt. She didn’t know how many more times she would pull Lan Qi into danger like this.
If she was fated to die, then her only wish was that she alone would die—never dragging Lan Qi down with her.
Yet—
Lan Qi looked at her in sheer puzzlement.
“Trouble? Isn’t it every time I need firewood, you’re the one who brings me charcoal?”
To Lan Qi, Huperion’s uncanny knack for attracting enemies was awe-inspiring. Every time, she lured him high-quality, treasure-dropping monsters!
And now—
After this Shadow World encounter, after his talk with Princess Alexia, after gaining intel from Stisela—
A sense of fate stirred within Lan Qi.
The more certain he became that someone was desperate to kill Huperion, the more convinced he was of another truth:
The Blood Clan of the Creith Empire, the Resurrection Church, the disappearance of Duke Migaya, the future Wilfort Massacre—these threads were all intertwined.
The moment when the Blood Clan took over the Creith Empire, the death of Duke Migaya, the fall of the Wilfort Trading Company—all lined up in timing.
And the Wilfort Trading Company just so happened to be the key transnational merchant guild linking the Kingdom of Hedon and the Creith Empire!
By now, to say these events were unrelated was impossible.
In the original story, if Lan Qi had died, no one would have interfered with Ikerite Academy’s entrance exam. Huperion might have died after failing it—or even if she passed by luck, the Resurrection Church would’ve just used more radical methods to kill her. Either way, she could never have survived to the main plotline.
But Huperion was crucial. She was the duke’s daughter, the one who tied together the demons, the Blood Clan, and the Resurrection Church.
Whoever wanted her dead had to be a mastermind pulling strings from the shadows.
That also meant that her death was likely the key trigger point leading to the Blood Clan’s takeover, Duke Migaya’s assassination, and the Wilfort massacre!
If that was true—
Then Lan Qi could be sure: long before the story began, the “doomed young master” marked for extermination and the “duke’s daughter” marked for assassination had always been bound by fate.
Helping her was helping himself all along!
Truly, good deeds are rewarded!
“Huperion, we must capture that villain plotting to harm the academy and endanger the students—and give him a good reformation!”
In this moment, Lan Qi once again became the model student council cadre, his words brimming with a sense of duty.
He would undertake a secret, noble mission, guarding the academy and the kingdom, foiling the Resurrection Church’s schemes, and easing the crisis of trust between Hedon and Yaloran.
And when it was all done, he would walk away, leaving his achievements buried in silence.
“…Huh?”
Huperion stared blankly into Lan Qi’s clear, righteous eyes, unable to tell whether he was the strange one or she was.
She was certain he wasn’t just spouting platitudes—he genuinely looked forward to her bringing even bigger monsters next time.
Huperion was slowly realizing something.
Could it be…
That all the disasters she drew onto herself—once shifted onto Lan Qi—turned into blessings?
Whether his motives were pure or not, one thing was certain: this guy was all too eager to “black eat black”… and eat to the very end!