Chapter 87 (1) - A Depressed Kendo Player Possesses a Bastard Aristocrat

Bonus chapter thanks to '@AroPho' for subscription to 'Iron Will' tier on Ko-fi.Demonic Energy.

A type of energy source that blooms from the Demon Realm, the dwelling place of the demon race.

In the world, it is also called ‘black mana’ or ‘death mana.’

Though it seems to have properties similar to mana,

It has the distinct difference of being murky in color and having a violent nature.

It is also known as the source of power mainly used by demons and monsters.

Living beings that live in ordinary environments cannot accept demonic energy.

Demonic energy is like a lethal poison.

It robs the life force from lush plants and rots the flesh of healthy animals.

Right.

Just like my wounds right now… … .

“Huu, haa… keuh…”

I clenched my teeth, letting out a groan drenched in pain.

Every time the demonic energy that permeated my wounds wriggled, the surrounding skin rotted black.

A sticky pus oozed from between the split flesh.

“Sh… Shit…”

Profanities involuntarily left my mouth at the pain that brought me to my senses.

The agony of my flesh rotting away was something I couldn’t bear in my right mind.

“Status… window… buy the ‘Pain Oblivion’ effect from the shop…”

-Ding!

[※》•Insufficient >×Points$¡□]

“Ha…”

Come to think of it, I had used up most of my points dealing with Recus.

I coughed up blood, enduring the hellish pain.

My consciousness was fading in and out.

‘Damn it…’

That bastard Recus, causing trouble even in death.

His skill in manipulating demonic energy was on par with his spearmanship…

It seems like he must have injected demonic energy into me every time he stabbed me.

“Damn… you… bastard…”

I muttered, trembling,

At this rate, my entire body would melt away from the demonic energy he had implanted in me.

I wiped away the cold sweat trickling down, desperately searching for a solution.

“Haah, haah…”

Beyond a certain level, demonic energy couldn’t be purified with magic or potions.

I needed divine power.

An overwhelmingly dense divine power at that.

“.......”

Call it fortunate in the midst of misfortune.

I knew one person who possessed such divine power.

The Saintess, Lorraine Marlena.

It seemed like I had no choice but to ask for her help.

***

I immediately sent a letter to Lorraine.

I used magic mail, so she would get it soon.

The contents were roughly like this:

‘I’m going to collect on the debt you owe me.’

‘Don’t tell anyone and come to my room alone.’

‘Make sure you’re by yourself.’

‘If you don’t come, I will use what happened a few weeks ago, with Allen accusing me of being the mastermind behind the field trip attack incident, against him. The Lishite Dukedom will not stand idly by.’

I wasn’t sure if I needed to add the last part, but it couldn’t be helped.

If Lorraine refused my request, the only future left for me was to wither away.

I had to bring her here, even if it meant taking Allen, whom she loved, hostage.

“Status… window…”

I muttered, plopping my faltering body back onto the bed, and called out to my status window.

I needed to check the progress of my ongoing sub quest.

“Search… for ongoing… sub quests…”

-Ding!

[Sub Quest: The Faceless #%&>>ero]

Secret#&=○ Academy## Attack@^#* Rescue#*(¿_》

※Caution#&#*※ Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴøvᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

If the number of people who become aware of your identity exceeds 3, the quest will automatically be considered a failure.

[Current number of people aware of your identity (1/2)]

[Time remaining until quest _#&*》ends: 9 hours 52 minutes]

A blue window entered my vision.

I frowned.

‘As expected… the number of people who know my identity has increased by one.’

That one person must be the ‘helper’ who said they helped me.

I had expected it, but seeing it like this made their existence all the more real.

‘Only one person left…’

That last one would be the Saintess.

Because the Saintess was also present at the rear gate battle.

Looking at the wounds on my body, she would quickly realize that I was the one behind the mask.

“Cough…! I… just… need to… hold out… until… the Saintess… gets here…”

Unlike my inner thoughts, my consciousness kept fading in and out.

Perhaps it was because of my convulsing tongue, but my pronunciation kept slurring.

Having been trapped in this excruciating pain for hours, I felt like my mind was collapsing.

I tried to force those thoughts away, desperately trying to redirect my attention.

‘…Just what happened to my status window?’

The first question that came to mind was, of course, the strange state of my status window.

Unlike its usual smooth, blue surface, it was now cracked and riddled with static.

I tried to figure out the cause, fiddling with the glitching thing.

And as I sat there for a while.

A notification message in the corner of the screen caught my eye.

[1 Urgent Notification Message Received]

“…?”

An urgent notification message?

This was a first…

With a sudden surge of anxiety, I hesitantly clicked on it.

*Click, Ring!*

A creaking mechanical sound rang out, and a lengthy message popped up.

This message, too, was full of cracks and blurred letters.

I carefully pieced together the erased parts and began to read it slowly.

[Urgent Notification Message]

Subject: System Instability Warning!

The system is experiencing instability due to the aftereffects of an unknown force.

To resolve this instability, the system will temporarily enter ‘Self-Repair Mode.’

※Caution※

During ‘Self-Repair Mode,’ any extreme mental or physical shock may cause damage to the system.

To prevent system malfunction, the user is advised to maintain a state of ‘absolute stability.’

If the system malfunctions, the status window will be unusable for a [Unknown] duration.

[Time remaining in Self-Repair Mode: 2 days 14 hours 26 minutes]

“.......”

What the hell was this now?

I muttered, massaging my throbbing temples.

As if things weren’t bad enough, now even my status window was acting up.

A sigh mixed with frustration and exhaustion escaped my lips.

“Haah…”

Perhaps this was also related to Recus’s demonic energy.

I tried to come up with a plausible explanation in my head, but nothing came to mind.

For now, one thing was certain.

To resolve the current situation, I needed to get rid of the demonic energy that had permeated my entire body.

And for that, I needed the Saintess’s help.

‘Damn it, it feels like it’s been way over 30 minutes… Why isn’t she here yet?’

I waited for time to pass, my heart growing more and more anxious with each tick.

***

Meanwhile, at that very moment.

At the Academy's main building, located a short distance from the dormitory building where Raiden was staying.

Against the backdrop of the bustling activity, numerous people were rushing around.

“Gather all the students from each class! Taking attendance is our top priority!”

“Disciplinary Committee! Where is the Disciplinary Committee?!”

“Are all the students who were in the annex safe?!”

It had already been two days since the monster invasion targeting the Academy.

The chaotic movements reflected the efforts to restore order to the academy that had been thrown into disarray.

Among those moving about was the current generation’s Saintess, Lorraine.

Lorraine was tending to the wounded and calmly guiding the students who were still in shock.

“Those who are injured, please gather at the back! The students majoring in Divine Power are over there…!”

Just then, a single letter arrived before her.

Rustle… Riding the wind, the letter gently landed.

“Hmm…?”

Lorraine picked up the letter that had appeared out of nowhere, tilting her head curiously.

As she did, the neatly folded paper unfolded on its own and appeared before her eyes.

“The sender is… Mr. Raiden…?”