The Villain Carries the Holy Sword – Chapter 175

Chapter 175: The Flower that Blooms at Night (4)

Wizards sleep late and wake up late.

Naturally, Wiseman was no exception.

“…….”

Weak in the morning, she barely managed to get out of bed and stumbled around.

〈Märchen Academy〉, being located in the remote southern part of the empire, lacked space to accommodate all the headmasters.

Therefore, Wiseman resided in the headmaster’s residence, built during the academy’s establishment.

“Water…….”

Although a bit old, the house boasted the architectural style of the old empire and a practical interior design, leaving Wiseman with no complaints.

Moreover, the large windows provided a sense of openness that suited her taste.

She might be a marquis now, but before being chosen by her master, she was someone who could sleep on the streets with just a blanket.

She moved slowly, attending to her tasks, and picked up her magic wand without even washing up.

“Today’s ‘night’ experiment will be to see how far I can recreate the sense of taste.”

After reviewing the research results she had written down until yesterday to check for any changes, she set her goal for the day.

At the magic tower, Wiseman was often criticized for being an arrogant genius wizard.

While she admitted to being arrogant, she couldn’t accept the title of genius.

She believed that other wizards could achieve the same if they put in as much effort as she did.

Whooooosh━.

Beside her magic wand, a silver basin filled with water reflected the entrance ceremony of 〈Märchen Academy〉.

Surprisingly, beyond the reflection sat someone who looked exactly like the current Wiseman, presiding as the headmaster.

━Is the top student, Cain, not present?

Wiseman frowned.

“Cain?”

The name felt familiar yet unfamiliar.

Her memories felt jumbled.

━Cadet Cain!

Adding to the problem was the entrance ceremony.

The top and runner-up students were supposed to come forward and take the oath, but the top student, ‘Cain,’ was absent.

━Then, runner-up student Elena, please come forward.

He was indeed absent.

“The princess skipped the entrance ceremony?”

Wiseman was instinctively surprised.

Then, she remembered that all she knew about the 13th princess was her name, and the fact that she was a diligent person who would never miss such an event.

As a wizard who perceived the world through logic, she realized that something was wrong with her current state.

“……It’s ‘night’.”

‘Night,’ the ultimate illusion magic she had created.

Light repels and distinguishes everything.

Darkness, on the other hand, embraces everything within itself, blurring both color and form.

‘Night,’ filled with darkness.

‘Night,’ Wiseman’s signature magic, embraced everything within its realm, making the nonexistent seem natural and the existent hazy.

It was magic that altered everyone’s perception and memories according to her will.

Truly, it was magic worthy of being called the pinnacle of mental manipulation.

‘Night,’ a masterpiece that the Great Wizard, Margette Wiseman, had staked her life on creating.

That’s why she knew.

She had been caught in ‘night,’ and her memories had been tampered with.

As she took a moment to assess the situation and deduce the cause…

Clang!

The window shattered.

Something pitch black descended from the sky and charged straight into Wiseman’s room.

She instinctively grabbed her wand and, without even confirming the opponent’s identity, cast:

Flare.

A high-heat flame shot out in a straight line.

Dark Sky.

Original Style.

Kyrie.

Originally a slashing sword technique performed with a greatsword.

However, the weapon in Cain’s hand was the holy sword, ‘Summer.’

Cain drew a thin trajectory of moonlight, effortlessly slicing through Wiseman’s magic.

“Attacking with Flare right off the bat, just like always.”

Black hair and purple eyes.

“You’re…… Cain?”

Wiseman found his appearance unfamiliar. Although she had only seen him recently, he looked like someone she should definitely remember.

Clang, clang━!

The windows next to the one Cain had entered through shattered one after another.

Lourens, Anje.

Princess Elena and even Mauve, who couldn’t comprehend why he was here, appeared.

The five of them had barged into her room.

“Yes, Wizard Wiseman.”

Wooong━.

Wiseman couldn’t move recklessly.

Not because she was one of the top wizards in the empire and couldn’t handle this situation, but…

“The holy sword?!”

Her gaze was completely fixated on the golden short sword in Cain’s hand.

“How are you holding that? Before activating ‘night,’ I placed ‘Summer’ in a separate chest with 144 layers of seals!”

“Because it’s the holy sword.”

“……The epitome of absurdity. The true principle that shines beyond human pursuit of truth, beyond this universe, the Sacred Treasures of the Four Seasons!”

For a moment, she erupted in anger, ranting about the sacred treasures, then blinked.

And with a completely different demeanor, she smiled wryly.

“I must have known that memory before I was caught in ‘night’.”

Cain stared intently at Wiseman. She still seemed to be trapped within Märchen Night.

Swoosh━.

He lightly raised ‘Summer’ and pointed it at her head.

“We need to figure out what’s going on. If you remain confused like this, I’ll have to make some ventilation.”

“The hero’s personality is quite…… Well, I suppose it’s unnecessary.”

Wiseman clicked her tongue and turned around.

With a tap of her wand, which was as small as her torso, she touched the bookshelf behind her.

Grrrrrr━.

The bookshelf, which had been firmly attached to the wall, rotated like a revolving door, revealing a space behind it.

Wiseman entered with a shrug, and the others followed.

“I back up my memories every day. You never know what might happen with illusion magic, so I save them daily.”

A small room appeared at the end of the desolate hallway.

A single Communication Orb, emitting a blue light, floated in the air.

“I usually back up around 6 p.m., so I wouldn’t have realized my memories were overwritten by ‘night’ until then.”

Click━.

She grabbed the Communication Orb with both hands.

A blue lightning bolt flickered around her head for a moment, and Wiseman immediately turned to look at Lourens.

“But now I understand. Hero Cain, and everything I discussed with you, Lourens, has come back to me.”

Lourens, who had been observing the situation, smiled wryly and quietly clapped.

“However…….”

Wiseman’s gaze shifted to Mauve.

Cain and Elena’s presence made sense considering their positions. The same went for Lourens and his companions.

But she couldn’t understand why an ordinary academy student was here.

His darting eyes suggested he was just as clueless about his presence.

“You’ll need him.”

“Well, if the hero says so.”

🔹🔹🔹

The next place Wiseman led them to was the underground laboratory where she had activated ‘night.’

Whooong━.

A typical wizard’s lab would be cluttered and messy, but Wiseman’s was different.

It was empty.

There was nothing but an empty space.

“This space shouldn’t be empty like this.”

She walked towards the center of the lab with a desolate expression, as if something were there.

“The core of the ‘night’ I cast should be here, but…….”

“It’s gone.”

“Yes. Normally, the ‘night’ I cast is powered by my magic and imagination.”

Tap, tap━.

Wiseman tapped her head and shook her head bitterly.

“Even if I am remarkable, I am still just a human. There are limits.”

“I heard you also triggered the Night of the Wizard at the imperial capital.”

Whizz━.

At Cain’s question, Wiseman immediately glared at Lourens. He lowered his head, implying he hadn’t said anything.

“I just happened to hear it.”

He had only seen it in the records from the future.

It was top-secret information now, but back then, it was just gossip, as the incident had long passed.

“That’s not something you just happen to hear about…… Well, my master was away, and that eyesore was gone, so I thought I’d have some fun.”

Wiseman tried to change the subject, but…

“During that time, people within a 3km radius of the magic tower, caught in the Night of the Wizard, were unable to leave for three days. And after ‘night’ ended, over a thousand ordinary people received treatment for its aftereffects…….”

As someone who had ended the Night of the Wizard that Wiseman had unleashed, Cain answered.

“What happened?”

“Some chose to end their own lives, wishing to return to the illusion.”

Cain’s eyes turned cold.

Wiseman shrugged as if she didn’t understand the problem.

“My magic exists for the happiness of humanity. I made them happy, so what’s the problem?”

“That attitude is why you were sent to Märchen despite being a Magic Marquis.”

Cain chuckled bitterly at Lourens’ words.

“I think it’s more like they sent you to a place where your magic experiments would cause less damage.”

“…….”

“It means that the Empire considers Wiseman’s signature magic, ‘night,’ to be quite significant.”

Cain knew the Empire.

If Airian, a nation born from war, was practical and humane, the Empire was cold-hearted.

Led by the Emperor, who made one question his humanity, the Imperial family and the intelligence agency were utterly ruthless in calculating the Empire’s gains and losses.

Supporting them were the Magic Tower and the Sword Tower.

Human emotions were unnecessary.

They would exploit even a devil if it benefited them.

That was the Empire, and Cain could roughly deduce the hidden reasons behind their actions.

“So, Wiseman came to Märchen and leisurely continued researching her magic, and this time, she used the ‘Devil’s Heart.’”

“You’re not an ordinary young hero, are you?”

Wiseman looked at Cain with a hint of admiration.

She had vaguely thought of him as a boy knight who had simply pulled out a holy sword, but now he felt like a seasoned mercenary who had seen it all.

“Let’s say someone marked their height on a tree in their yard with a pen. Could I accurately recreate that in the illusion created by ‘night’?”

“Impossible.”

“But it became possible using the ‘Devil’s Heart’ as a medium.”

Hum━.

She waved her hand in the empty air as if a heart were there.

“It automatically calculated and filled in the minute details I missed and even drew upon external sources to replenish my insufficient magic power. It was the ultimate magic core.”

“As a wizard, you must have studied demonology to some extent. Which devil’s heart was it?”

“Probably Procell.”

At that moment, a new quest window appeared before Cain.

+

『The Revolving Seasons XLIX』

Everything has an end, and even the ‘Agents of Eternity’ who resisted that end were no exception.

Both the ‘end’ and ‘eternity’ are chosen by the master of the 『Four Seasons』.

Procell, the Devil of Lies, who had disguised even death as a falsehood, poured all of himself into his heart, making a pact with the future.

Clear Conditions: 『Annihilator of Destruction Ⅳ』 Success, Prevent Procell’s resurrection.

Success: World line fixation can be changed to world reformation, increased luck.

Failure: All of Academy City Märchen will perish.

*You can gain omniscience and omnipotence equivalent to the % of world reformation.

*However, world reformation cannot be fixed.

+

“He wasn’t the Demon King, but he was the worst devil in human history, making one wish the Demon King was in charge instead.”

Cain stroked his chin.

Looking at Wiseman, who was searching for the Devil’s Heart that had already vanished into thin air, he asked,

“You need the heart to end the current ‘night,’ right?”

“Yes. It stole my magic and even contaminated me with ‘night’.”

“Do you know where it is?”

“……I could find it if I had a few days, but it’s impossible with the current time loop.”

Wiseman replied with a frown.

Cain finally turned to Mauve and asked,

“Mauve Ness.”

“Y, Yes!”

He didn’t know what kind of person Cain was, but since the headmaster called him “hero,” he couldn’t help but be nervous.

Pat━.

Cain patted Mauve’s shoulder and asked,

“Have you ever wished to become stronger, even if it meant sacrificing the lives of everyone around you?”

“What?! N, No! Absolutely not!”

━I shouldn’t have wished for it. If only I hadn’t made that wish, they wouldn’t have died!

The clumsy Mauve and…

The skilled warrior Mauve, speaking on the verge of death.

Cain overlapped the two images and spoke,

“Then, have you ever muttered to yourself while alone, taking a break when things were tough?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Where?”

Mauve’s eyes darted around.

He was flustered, wondering why he had to answer such a question.

“That’s where it’ll be. Procell.”

The hero from the future smiled.

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