The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“Senior! Senior Cyan!”

Despite Luna’s desperate call, no response came from beyond the fallen rocks.

If only they would reply that they were safe.

Eventually, standing up, Luna took a step back and began to manifest her mana.

-Woong

Watching this, Caron quickly grabbed her hand.

“Calm down, Lady Luna! Are you planning to bring down the ruins?”

“Let go.”

Her reply was short and concise, but Luna’s eyes were filled with uncontrollable anger.

Startled, Caron unwittingly let go of her hand.

“Explain.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Why you suddenly brought down perfectly intact ruins.”

At her sudden interrogation, Caron frowned and answered.

“How can you say such nonsensical things?”

Luna, without showing any agitation, looked at Caron and said softly,

“Aziz Pereira…”

“…?”

The owner of the name appeared puzzled at the unexpected mention.

“A holder of a seven-star rank, affiliated with the Earth Attribute Department from the western region of Arg in the kingdom…”

It was his identity information recorded in the academy.

“While diverting the prince Set’s attention with a question, you cast a spell from behind, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about? I have been still all the…”

“Shall I hug you right now to check whether you’ve cast a spell or not?”

The magicians participating in the expedition were all of a certain magic rank and held positions within the academy.

Meaning, they could not be unaware of her unique ability.

Unable to nod in agreement, Aziz eventually averted his gaze.

“It’s not right to have baseless suspicions, Lady Luna. Let’s leave this ruin for now. We’ll go out and ask for help from the rest of the academy members.”

Caron, with a lowered voice, suggested they go outside.

“Help?”

At this, her face turned noticeably colder.

“Is this advice for those of you who are recklessly dabbling in things under the guise of advancing magic?”

Excluding Caron, the faces of the other academy members instantly turned pale.

On the other hand, Caron looked directly at Luna with a serious gaze, without any sign of being flustered.

In the unknown space where anything could happen, a fierce aura battle unfolded between the man and woman.

“Nothing will change by doing this, Lady Luna….”

Finally, with raised eyebrows, Caron spoke to her with a tone of pity.

“Lady Luna, you know better, don’t you? What truly serves the academy, the kingdom, and you. Paying attention to such unnecessary things is of no help….”

“That’s what you think, who knows nothing.”

She then conspicuously released the blue mana she had secretly created.

“I am not your puppet.”

-Flash-

In an instant, a bright light appeared from the darkness, blinding them.

The academy members, suddenly deprived of their sight, turned away in agony.

Quickly regaining their composure and looking back, only dust was swirling where she had been.

Luna was already fleeing in a direction where the rocks had not fallen.

“Damn it!”

Caron, with a distorted face, ordered the academy members.

“Two stay here to watch the situation, and the rest go after her. If she appears again, make sure to capture her alive!”

“What about those inside?”

“Kill them.”

His answer came without a hint of hesitation.

“It seems they won’t be escaping anyway….”

To them, the lives of Cyan and Set were of no concern.

It was an opportunity given by the heavens that could not be wasted.

Looking in the direction Luna had fled, Caron quietly murmured.

“Everything is for the advancement of mankind….”

With that vow, resembling a spell, they moved deeper into the ruins, to a place unknown.

* * *

I split it in half, expecting its body to fall forward, but an unexpected strike came.

Of course, it was not difficult to avoid.

However, as I regained my posture and looked at the creature again, I couldn’t help but doubt my eyes.

“What is that?”

The two halves that Kaeram had cut did not separate but rapidly fused back together, and eventually, they were regenerating at an astonishing speed.

It felt as if I wasn’t cutting through a living body, but rather slicing through a mound of mud or the middle of a swamp.

The Balrog I knew did not possess such exceptional regenerative abilities.

This was not an innate ability of the monster itself, but rather, someone who had summoned this monster had cast a regeneration spell on it.

What kind of hybrid is this?

[What fool created such an absurd creature?]

Kaeram, seemingly displeased with the sensation of cutting, also squinted her eyes in discomfort.

The Balrog, after briefly looking at me in surprise, once again manifested mana in its hand.

It wasn’t the same attack magic as before.

Instead of destruction, it created a restrictive barrier to prevent damage from our battle.

Being known to have power rivaling that of dragons, Balrog was also one of the species capable of using magic.

However, compared to humans or dragons, their intelligence was not particularly high, and their race was more driven by pure instincts of destruction and doom, making them infamous even in the demonic realms.

That such a Balrog had cast a restrictive barrier to protect the ruins.

It seemed that whoever summoned this creature had instilled in it an instinct for protection rather than destruction, to guard the ruins.

Not that it means communication is possible.

Regardless of its instincts, I must kill this creature; that hasn’t changed.

For the moment, I kept my distance to observe its behavior.

If this Balrog is indeed the monster referred to as “Lemiharam” by the locals, then it likely was summoned through the power of a sorcerer.

If that’s the case, there must be a core where magic power is concentrated somewhere in the Balrog’s body.

Summoned creatures created by magic typically have a core of magical power, akin to a heart in humans.

In other words, just like the heart, it could be a vulnerability that can be targeted.

Destroying it would mean that no matter how exceptional the summoned creature’s regenerative abilities are, it would instantly perish.

Having confirmed my path, I immediately manifested the power of the mist.

“Shadow Dance 4th Form: Detection of Killing Intent!”

I fused my mana with the manifested mist to inspect the Balrog’s insides.

Millions, billions of magical power streams ran throughout its body like human blood vessels.

Just as rivers branch out and converge into the sea, the intertwined flows of magical power were also converging into one place.

The head.

In the exact center of the head.

The core of dark magic condensed within must be shattered.

With a barrier of restriction created, there’s no reason for me not to run wild either.

The dark mist’s energy slowly approaches from the tip of Kaeram’s sword.

Without waiting long, the moment I was ready to break the core,

-Tat

I immediately kicked off the ground and dashed.

Sensing the murderous intent, Balrog spread its degenerated wings, causing a whirlwind.

-Whoooosh!

Though the blade wind was threatening enough to crack the stone walls, it was merely a gentle breeze to me.

I leapt lightly, like a bird flapping its wings in flight.

“Dance of the Sword: The Root of the Sturdy Main Branch!”

-Crack

The moment the blade penetrated the thick skin and touched the fluctuating core of magic, the mist’s energy surrounding Kaeram quickly spread into Balrog’s body.

“……!”

Balrog did not even scream, let alone resist.

-Thump!

Finally, the creature knelt and fell forward.

With the core destroyed, the same regeneration would not occur.

As if dissolution was underway, smoke soon began to rise from Balrog’s body.

Hmm.

It feels somewhat anticlimactic?

Though I handled it without major issues, it’s a bit awkward to say I gained something from it.

After all, I haven’t learned anything conclusive about this demon’s connection to the magical tome.

Without being able to torture a mute summoned creature for information, killing it was the best I could do.

I thought about searching the body for anything but, with the summon’s core broken, it had already completed its dissolution and was disappearing into a translucent state.

Just when I thought only dust would whirl in its place,

“……!”

Suddenly, I found something small and yellowish, the size of an adult’s fingernail.

It was the only piece left from Balrog, which had entirely dissolved, not even a single hair remaining.

I quickly picked it up as if picking up a dropped coin.

Its surface felt thin and rough, as if covered in dust.

It felt fragile, as if it would tear with force or melt upon touching water.

Without further inspection, it was clear…

It was paper.

[Hey, let me see that!]

Kaeram, who had materialized out of nowhere, snatched the paper from my hand in an instant.

Her face noticeably distorted after a brief moment of confused examination.

[What was this idiot thinking, dropping this here?]

It seemed she knew what the paper was.

As I was about to ask,

[It’s what you’ve been looking for, Master.]

She tossed the paper back to me.

“What is this?”

[What else? It’s a piece of the magical tome.]

Kaeram continued with a disgusted expression as I stood there, dumbfounded.

[That guy is here right now.]

* * *

Contrary to the expectation of a labyrinth-like structure, only a straight path stretched endlessly before Luna.

No matter how ancient the relic, it couldn’t be this simplistic.

At the very least, there should have been a trick or two at the crossroads to buy some time, but this frustrating relic offered no such assistance.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before the pursuing scholars caught up.

That would render Luna’s effort to follow Cyan meaningless.

For Luna, it was an unthinkable scenario.

“Eek!”

While rushing breathlessly, she tripped and fell.

Just as she hurriedly tried to get up and flee again, she raised her head only to encounter something decidedly unpleasant.

“This isn’t good…”

It was a dead end with no place to turn back to.

Grinding her teeth in frustration, Luna refused to give up. She got up and immediately took a stance.

-Woong

If there was no path forward, she would make one by breaking through.

Even if it seemed impossible, it was a hundred, a thousand times better than sitting down and weeping.

The old her wouldn’t even have run away like this.

With not much of her life remaining, she had thought being swayed this way or that, it would make no difference.

But not now.

A small path had appeared in what seemed a hopeless future,

This path was not one led by others but one she could tread on her own, a path meant solely for her.

Though she couldn’t see what lay at the end of this path, to find out what was there,

She couldn’t possibly fall here.

With a firm resolve, gathering mana in her hands, she was about to chant a spell to break the wall when,

“……?”

Suddenly, a strange black sphere appeared before her.

Startled, Luna lowered her hands and made eye contact with the sphere.

The sphere, initially small, expanded to engulf her, eventually forming a small hole that seemed to invite her inside.

From the hole flowed a strange energy she had never felt before, emitting a light that seemed to beckon her in.

Without realizing it, Luna stepped inside.

“…….”

Inside the sphere, nothing had changed.

The space resembled the corridors of the relic she had been running through.

The only difference was the presence of someone else.

A man with long black hair sat squatting in the middle of the corridor, looking intently at her.

“…….”

His half-lowered eyes seemed to hold a hint of curiosity.

(To be continued)