BFBG 08

Chapter 08

‘…What do I do now?’

Taking care of the doppelganger was fine.

The problem was everything afterward.

‘First of all, the corpse is the issue.’

This was a private room on the fourth floor of the boys’ dormitory.

Secretly moving this body outside and dumping it was practically impossible.

‘Looks like I have no choice but to contact Reaper.’

I’d been trying to avoid interacting with upper executives, including Reaper, as much as possible to reduce the chances of my identity being exposed.

But this couldn’t be helped.

I pulled out the “communication artifact” Reaper had given me beforehand.

‘But… how does this thing work?’

A plain-looking copper ring.

How was I supposed to use this to contact someone?

Maybe it activates if I pour mana into it?

The moment I thought that and moved my mana—

Piiing!

Mana faintly flowed across the copper ring’s surface.

Then a voice echoed in my head.

—Master.

A voice like grinding metal.

How should I describe it?

Like… a monster trying to imitate human speech.

—What… is… the matter.

I was startled.

I’d naturally assumed Reaper would answer.

‘Who is this?’

For now, since they called me “Master,” they were definitely someone affiliated with Black Night.

And judging by how unsurprised they were at receiving direct contact from me, they must be someone in a position where such contact wasn’t unusual.

Adding that together with the monstrous voice…

“Endrich. There’s something I want to ask of you.”

One of Black Night’s executives.

The king of all undead as a High Elder Lich.

Endrich.

It had to be him.

—Anything. Please… command… me.

As expected.

“I’d like you to dispose of a corpse.”

—A… corpse?

“Yes.”

—What… corpse?

His words broke apart awkwardly.

That too was one of Endrich’s traits.

Endrich possessed Dragon Speech, the power to make spoken words become reality.

If he didn’t intentionally speak in fragments, his words would manifest in the real world.

“A doppelganger’s corpse.”

—The… doppelganger… died?

“Yes. I killed it.”

—I… see. Understood. I… will handle it… immediately.

An unexpected response.

I thought he’d obviously ask why I killed it.

Instead, he accepted it without any questions.

—Must… disposal… happen… right now?

“Hmm. The faster, the better.”

—Understood. Then… it may become… unpleasant… to witness… so… be careful.

The moment he answered—

The doppelganger’s corpse suddenly emitted black light and began to transform.

Its ordinary skin changed into black metallic material.

Its height shot up from around 170 cm to nearly 3 meters.

Its physique expanded along with it.

‘A Death Knight?!’

The doppelganger had become a Death Knight.

‘Why…?’

Why had Endrich suddenly turned it into a Death Knight?

—For the sinner… who dared… inconvenience… Master… eternal… suffering.

Krrrrk— Grrrrrrrrk!

The Death Knight let out a grotesque scream and burst into flames.

I worried the fire might spread around the room, but thankfully it didn’t.

The flames burning the Death Knight were thought-flames—fire that only burned souls and affected living beings.

Fssssss…

The flames soon engulfed the Death Knight completely.

THUD!

About ten seconds later—

The Death Knight collapsed, lifeless.

—Thus… the doppelganger’s… soul… shall burn… forever… in this world.

“……”

—Then… if… you require… anything… else… call… for me.

Before I could respond—

Endrich ended the communication himself.

I stared blankly at the copper ring, now dimmed, and the corpse of the Death Knight that had once been the doppelganger.

‘…What am I supposed to do with this?’

Instead of disappearing—

The body had become bigger.

What was I supposed to do now?

I infused mana into the ring again to tell Endrich to properly remove this corpse too.

That was when I heard movement outside the door.

“There was a loud noise. What happened inside?”

A voice that sounded like an instructor.

“Uh—there was a really loud sound! Like… like a fight broke out…”

Another male student’s voice.

Probably the one who called the instructor.

“If you do not answer, I’ll force entry.”

Sounded like he was ready to break down the door immediately.

“It’s okay! You don’t need to come in—!”

“If it’s okay, then open the door.”

What do I do?

How do I get through this situation safely?

“Refusing to open the door means someone inside is threatening you. I’m entering by force!”

“No, it’s not tha—”

BANG!

Before I could finish—

The door burst open.

The instructor stepped into the room.

“Ah…”

The thought I’m screwed naturally crossed my mind.

No solution came to mind.

‘That bastard Endrich…’

The best I could do right now was curse the guy responsible for putting me in this situation.

“A—a Death Knight!”

…Was this the end?

I was certain I’d be expelled.

But what came out of the instructor’s mouth was completely unexpected.

“You… defeated a Death Knight… by yourself?”

…Excuse me?

Afterward, I was summoned by the instructor and heard the full story.

“Listen carefully. Your older brother—the one who accused you of corruption today—Chaan Velomata was under the control of necromancy.”

The doppelganger.

The one disguised as “Cha-an.”

Apparently, just before being expelled, it suddenly vanished.

And where it disappeared—

Strong traces of necromancy remained.

“We invited priests and cardinals from the Church to analyze the energy. The result was that the power belonged to Endrich, Lord of the Land of Death.”

The owner of that power was indeed Endrich.

‘So the doppelganger was one of Endrich’s subordinates…’

That explained how he transformed it into a Death Knight with a snap from so far away.

‘And the reason my call reached Endrich… was because the doppelganger’s body contained a huge amount of his mana.’

Now it all made sense.

That was why the instructor’s first reaction wasn’t:

“Did you summon this?!”

But:

“Did you defeat it?”

“And Jian. Endrich’s puppet was targeting you. That’s why we immediately sent you to the dormitory and stationed guards nearby…”

The instructor bit his lip bitterly.

“To think… it would break through all security… and send a Death Knight after you…”

“So that’s what happened.”

I nodded as if I had finally understood everything.

“Brother was under necromancy… Is that why he hated me so much?”

I put on a sorrowful smile.

A look that seemed sad—

Yet relieved.

“I’m glad. The real brother didn’t actually hate me…”

“Student Jian…”

The instructor looked at me with sympathy, apparently moved by my acting.

“Has this been reported to Father and Mother?”

“Yes. We informed them. Given the seriousness of the matter, we couldn’t avoid telling them.”

“I see…”

I lowered my head slightly, wearing an expression that seemed to say:

Thinking of how heartbroken my parents must be tears me apart.

“And… I’m sorry to say this, but an Inquisitor and Cardinal from the Church will likely be sent to Baron Velomata’s household.”

“An Inquisitor…?”

“Yes. It’s unreasonable to think only the eldest son was manipulated through necromancy.”

“So there could be more puppets within the family.”

I sighed deliberately.

“And there’s something even harder to say…”

The instructor hesitated.

“You don’t need to say it. I know.”

I gave a bitter smile.

“There’s a high chance Mother and Father are also being controlled.”

“And…”

“I as well… am a candidate who should undergo heresy examination.”

“I personally believe Student Jian is absolutely innocent…”

The instructor lowered his head apologetically.

“That’s exactly why confirmation is necessary.”

At that moment—

The counseling room door opened.

A beautiful woman with striking platinum hair appeared.

A treasure of the Church.

Someone destined to become the next Pope in the near future.

Currently a second-year student at Garam Academy, known widely as the Saintess.

“I think so too.”

“Student Chloe…”

Chloe Urenia.

A companion character ranked among the top three most popular in Hero History, alongside Princess Aris.

“Sorry for entering without knocking. The matter is urgent, so I needed to confirm things quickly.”

She walked toward me.

“Student Chloe. Have you already examined the Death Knight?”

“Yes. As you suspected, Instructor. Endrich’s mana was detected in the Death Knight too.”

“Then doesn’t that prove Student Jian is innocent?”

“No. We can’t conclude that yet. What if this is all staged to avoid suspicion?”

Chloe shook her head.

“To be honest, I think a staged performance is more likely. It’s more believable than a first-year who just enrolled defeating a Death Knight alone.”

Death Knights ranged around level 67–72.

There was no way a new first-year could defeat such a monster.

That’s what Chloe’s eyes seemed to say.

“What do you think, junior Jian Velomata? Am I right?”

“Of course not.”

At my firm response—

Chloe narrowed her eyes slightly.

As if asking:

Why tell a lie that’ll immediately be exposed?

“Well, fine. We’ll know soon enough.”

She held out her hand.

“You said you’ve got nothing to hide. Then you don’t mind verification, right? Take my hand.”

Chloe possessed the ability to detect negative power in anyone she touched.

The ability was absolute.

No method could hide from it.

If I really were Jeiraon—

This would already be checkmate.

But—

‘Yeah. I’ve got nothing to be caught for.’

I confidently took her hand.

Unexpectedly, Chloe looked startled instead.

“You’re awfully confident. I wonder how long that confidence will la—”

That was when her words stopped.

“This… this energy…”

Her eyes widened in shock.

‘What? Why’s she reacting like that? Don’t tell me traces of Jeiraon’s power are still left in me?’

That seemed possible.

Jeiraon had tried to take over my body.

Maybe he’d left all sorts of things behind.

‘If that’s true…’

As anxiety began creeping up again—

“The aura… of one loved by all things…”

Chloe muttered something completely unexpected.

“The world favors you… practically a divine blessing… This…”

Loved by all existence.

Favored by the world.

That was…

‘Princess Aris’s trait?’

Princess Aris’s unique characteristic.

The absurdly overpowered ability unlocked after overcoming her misfortune.

That had to be what Chloe was referring to.

‘Is she sensing leftover traces of Aris’s blessing in my body?’

That seemed possible.

One of Chloe’s abilities made her highly sensitive to divine power.

And “Beloved by All Things” truly was a divine blessing.

Even remnants would be detectable.

“This isn’t power an ordinary student should possess… Ah, was that why Endrich targeted you? Then everything explains itself…”

Chloe fell into her own world, muttering to herself.

The instructor interrupted.

“Student Chloe. What do you mean? A divine blessing?”

“…Ah. Ahem.”

Snapping back to reality—

Chloe glanced around before looking at me.

Her gaze dropped briefly to our joined hands.

Then returned to me.

The suspicion in her eyes from before had vanished.

In its place was something else:

Desire.

“Junior Jian Velomata.”

Her smile looked unnatural.

Artificial.

…That expression looked familiar.

Where had I seen it before?

“Apparently I misunderstood. I can detect no evil whatsoever from your body. Pure white perfection. Innocent beyond innocent.”

“I’m glad your suspicions are cleared.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll personally guarantee there’s no connection between you and Endrich, so don’t worry.”

Ah.

I remembered.

“By the way, junior…”

“What do you think about the god Zenas?”

Do you have a moment to talk about our faith?

“There’s morning prayer tomorrow. Would you like to come pray with me?”

That expression—

It was exactly the look people had when trying to recruit others into a cult.