EDPEN 04

Chapter 04.

It was while Ruin was checking on Ruins Wayne.

The bandit with the broken leg ground his teeth. Then he blurted out something unexpected.

“Ghk… what kind of lunatic are you! Don’t tell me you’re his partner too?!”

Partner?

“Damn it, I was planning to catch that bastard and squeeze money out of the Wayne family……”

What? The Wayne family? Don’t tell me he meant that Wayne family—one of the Union’s Eight Great Noble Houses?

But the bandit seemed to reach some conclusion on his own and clenched his teeth.

“Yeah. No way they’d leave the job of killing Haven’s new professor to just us.”

Ruin frowned.

Targeting a newly appointed professor at Haven… Could this be Pride, the faction opposing Haven? Or—could it be the demon race?

‘No way. That can’t be…’

“With the Firefly of the Demon Lord dead, this is our chance to rack up some achievements!”

Damn it. So they really were on the same side. No—calling them the same side just pissed him off.
And whoever they were talking about being dead—

“How dare you set your sights on my skin.”

The bandit looked bewildered.

“What? Skin?”

Ruin’s gaze changed.

The blue eyes of the kind-looking deliveryman now seemed to ignite with the flames of ruin. His blue pupils transformed into gold, tinged with a crimson twilight glow, as if fire itself were burning within them.

【Infusion of Misfortune】

This was the result of training himself to use at will the “Wanderer’s Fate (wanderlust),” which once activated indiscriminately.

“Misfortune” was divided into five levels. Using it brought misfortune upon the user as well, but at low levels, the cost was manageable.

As proof, the mana projectile the bandit was forming exploded on the spot—like a self-destruction.

“Gah!”

The bandit panicked.

“Damn it! Why did it fail?!”

Grinding his teeth, he drew up even more mana. Stronger magic circles flared into existence all around him, pouring out power.

Kraash!

“I’ll tear your limbs apart!”

Red currents like lightning carved into the ground and collapsed the ceiling.

In the midst of the violent storm, Ruin clicked his tongue. This was unmistakable killing intent.

‘Thought he was just being cocky… so he’s a mage.’

Sure, he was probably a mid-tier mage who would be treated well anywhere else. But to Ruin, he was nothing more than cute.

Ruin snapped his fingers.

BOOM!

Scarlet flames wrapped around the ceiling. The explosion of mana projectiles shattered the windows in an instant, and through the broken openings, the raging fire roared like a beast breathing flames.

Crash! Crash!

Shards of glass rained down to the first floor. The bandit, charred black like charcoal, was flung out through the window.

Thud! Thud!

His spine bent grotesquely as he hit the ground after falling from the second floor.

“Guhhk…!”

Coughing up blood, the bandit groaned.

He couldn’t understand the situation at all. The only thing he knew for sure was that the deliveryman standing by the second-floor window now looked like some monstrous beast.

“…You crazy bastard. What did you do to me?!”

Ruin stood there with his hands in his pockets, not a hint of disorder in his posture. From the economy of his movements alone, it was obvious he was a master. It was baffling why someone like this would hide their strength.

But even more baffling was this—

“Why did a spell that never fails…!”

Ruin narrowed his eyes.

Why?

Why else?

“Looks like your ‘luck’ was weaker than my ‘misfortune.’”

What? Misfortune?
What the hell is this bastard saying—

But at that moment, when he truly saw Ruin, his heart nearly stopped.

‘What… is that?’

The black aura surrounding Ruin was chilling. It was as if he carried all the misfortune in the world upon himself—like the Goddess of Misfortune herself was embracing him. And yet, the man bearing all that stood there without the slightest change in expression. It was grotesque.

At the same time, the bandit realized something.

Even amid such a violent surge of mana, Ruin’s physical condition was perfectly intact. A calamity capable of swallowing even heroes—the pinnacle of blessings—and an ability great enough to mock the blessed Union itself.

There was only one person who fit all of that.

“S-So you’re…!”

Instead of answering, Ruin snapped his fingers again.

Clang!

A scorched signboard fell onto the bandit’s head. Blood trickled out from beneath it.

Ruin’s “misfortune” caused the failure of mana projectile creation, led to self-destruction, and finally claimed the bandit’s life through sheer accident.

‘That guy’s luck stat was barely a one.’

Firefly’s misfortune ability worked by subtracting the opponent’s luck from his own misfortune before activation.

In simple terms, the higher the opponent’s luck, the stronger the misfortune that needed to be injected. For this bandit, the lowest level was more than enough.

In general, demons found it difficult to deal with the Union’s heroes. Heroes blessed by the gods had high “luck,” so attacks rarely landed.

In fact, the Union fought using magic imbued with luck—what they called “luck power.” The higher it was, the higher the chances of successful attacks, avoiding damage, and favorable outcomes.

They even managed their security facilities with high luck power. With luck that high, the Union was naturally less likely to be robbed.

That’s why his superior once said:

“The Union’s luck power is an eyesore even our ‘curse power’ can’t easily suppress. In this world, isn’t the only curse that can overpower luck… ‘misfortune’?”

Well, I happen to have that misfortune.

Anyway, Ruin quickly turned back. All that remained was to treat Ruins Wayne. His life should have been fine.

‘If he was appointed to Haven, this much shouldn’t be a problem.’

There was a reason the bandit had stabbed him first.

Every professor at Haven was someone who trained heroes—and a hero actively fighting on the front lines themselves. Anyone unworthy of that couldn’t be appointed. Their luck would naturally be at hero-level as well.

‘In any case, Ruins Wayne is a top-priority individual scheduled for the chancellor’s interview.’

So Ruin approached gently.

“Mr. Wayne. Are you all right? I’ll treat you right away—”
“……”
“Mr. Wayne?”
“……”

Ruin’s mouth fell open at the unexpected sight.

“…Hey. Wait a second.”
“……”

Wayne was dead.

…Damn it!

Firefly rarely froze like this.

A mistake.

He hadn’t expected him to die from such a small explosion.

Could it be because of me?
Did Wayne die because of me?
Did my misfortune spill over to the surroundings because I used my ability after so long?

‘No. That can’t be.’

This guy was hero-class! A professor appointed to Haven!
Then was it blood loss? Bleeding to death?

Ruin pressed his brow, troubled, as he analyzed the situation.

‘He was stabbed near a vital point, sure, but…’

He should’ve had more than enough strength to heal himself.
There was no way a Haven professor would die from simple blood loss!
Most importantly, this man’s specialty was healing studies!

‘Then why did he die?!’

That’s like a priest being unable to heal his own wounds!

So this meant…

—He died of misfortune.

This was insane.

Ruin grabbed his head.

‘Did my ability grow stronger while I was wandering between dimensions? Enough to kill even someone like this with misfortune alone?’

But the real problem wasn’t that.

‘This bastard wasn’t supposed to die yet!’

He needed him to infiltrate Haven.

Ruin chose Ruins Wayne for a reason. The moment he saw Wayne’s documents, he knew he was the perfect candidate—because of that “bandaged face.”

After his reconnaissance as a deliveryman, he’d realized something.

‘There’s a “de-transformation” spell deployed throughout Haven.’

No matter what kind of transformation you used, you’d revert to your original form. Obviously meant to weed out spies.

Even Ruin couldn’t maintain a transformation indefinitely inside such magic.

The area he’d entered as a deliveryman was technically a cargo storage zone—classified as outside Haven—so it hadn’t been a problem.

But internal areas like lecture halls or research buildings were different. It was a good thing he hadn’t disguised himself as a teaching assistant.

That’s why he needed someone whose face being covered at all times wouldn’t seem strange.

‘Yeah. There’s no one else but him.’

And being from the Wayne family meant people wouldn’t mess with him lightly—an advantage, if anything.

Yet he died before even getting an office. Before even meeting the chancellor!

‘What do I do?’

—What do you think? Give up and come back. Get back to work.

Are you kidding me?

—Then are you going to meet the chancellor?

Damn it! All I need is to retrieve my vault!
And the chancellor of Haven is basically part of the Union’s leadership!

‘Do I want to be exposed and torn limb from limb?’

As Ruin agonized, he noticed letters scattered across the desk.

• “Stop disgracing the family and come home!”

• “You can’t even heal your own face, and you want to be a healing studies professor? Are you joking?”

• “You couldn’t even avoid a demon’s curse, and with that face you teach defense? Even a dog would laugh.”

Letters full of personal abuse. It seemed Wayne was the family’s problem child.

‘Well… with a face like that, I guess people would look down on him.’

Ruin unwound the bandages from Wayne’s face.

What appeared was a grotesque visage—no, calling it grotesque was almost funny. It was a face that could barely be called human, more like a monster. That was why he’d always kept it covered.

‘Yeah. With a face like this, people would say he was abandoned by God.’

Ruins Wayne.

When Ruin first saw the surname, he’d suspected something—but dismissed it, thinking someone from the Wayne family wouldn’t be a poor, wandering adjunct lecturer.

‘Someone from the Wayne family… a wandering lecturer?’

He could’ve easily held a high position already.

Yet the fact that he wandered gave Ruin a strange sense of kinship. Their names were similar, too. And above all, Wayne’s unlucky death felt like a glimpse of Ruin’s own future.

With that thought, Ruin placed his hand on Wayne’s body.

Something strange happened.

【Devour】 (Racial Unique Skill)

Grrrrk!

A black shadow burst out from Ruin’s body. The shadows spread in all directions and swallowed Ruins Wayne’s corpse whole.

Unlike “transformation,” which only changed appearance, “devour” allowed him to consume a target and extract their abilities. It was also the only way to store a corpse.

This was all possible because he was born as part of the Shadow race.

In addition, he could “copy,” and do everything a shadow could.

After finishing the disposal, Ruin stood up.

‘I think there was a resurrection potion in the vault.’

If he could just retrieve his severance pay, maybe he’d try bringing Wayne back to life.

The problem was…

‘Of all things, he’s a professor in an enemy nation, teaching future heroes.’

At that moment, the gentle deliveryman’s face peeled away, scattering into the air.

Shrrk!

Particles of light dispersed like a cocoon shedding its shell.

What finally emerged was a young man with black hair and golden eyes. Handsome like a sculpture, with a neat, cool gaze.

The true face of Firefly—one that no one but the Demon Lord and the Intelligence Bureau had ever seen.

‘Can’t be helped.’

I don’t want to live as a spy anymore.

“………”

But what about the chancellor’s interview?