Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I Remembered (2)

[......!]

Russell swept his chest in surprise, even though he was a ghost and couldn’t physically touch his body. It was because Lucion, who was always full of doubts, seemingly changed into an entirely different person.

In the midst of it, Russell couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

[You,... what’s wrong with you?]

Russell stammered in bewilderment.

[Did you... lose your mind when you get hit?]

Lucion shook his head at Russell’s question.

Until now, Lucion still couldn’t get his head around the existence of Russell because the latter, after all, was still a ghost. However, Russell, in the novel he had read, kept him safe. The ghost sacrificed himself for him.

‘Now I will protect my teacher.’

Lucion has made up his mind in resolve.

‘I’ll never let him go away again.’

The disappearance of Russell was the cause of why he became a fallen warlock. And he had to prevent that tragedy from happening again.

“Teacher.”

Lucion struggled to get himself up. He looked at Russell, who was still dumbfounded.

“Teach me black magic.”

Lucion bowed to Russell.

[Are you serious...?]

Russell didn’t believe it at all.

“Yes, I mean it.”

[You’re not just playing around and lying, are you?]

Russell looked at Lucion with his eyes half closed, silently pondering. For nearly a month, the only thing he gained from persuading Lucion was the name of the Warlock.

[‘I’ve been thinking about how I would convince him to learn black magic, but I didn’t expect it to be solved at once and for him to volunteer.’]

Russell pinched his cheek, which didn’t hurt because he was just a lingering soul.

“I’m not lying.”

Lucion’s pupils showed the gravity of his firmness.

Black magic was a kind of magic that was created to control the darkness within one’s self and to prevent his fall he needs to have a full grasp of it.

Those who were blessed with darkness— whether they liked it or not— were forced to become warlocks in the end.

‘Even if this world regards darkness like a plague, I must learn it.’

Lucion clenched his hand tightly.

[I don’t get what you were trying to do. Suddenly saying things like this, what’s wrong with you?]

Russell could not hide his confusion.

“It’s just, in the blink of an eye, the world looks different.”

Lucion was sincere in what he just said. After recalling his past life as Lee Haram, he was overwhelmed with unexplained emotions.

At that time, he was struggling because he had no money, and even if he wanted to do something, he couldn’t do it because he was against the wall of reality.

But, now it was different.

He had plenty of money, was born as a high-ranking aristocrat, and the wall of reality was far too low. He could now do anything with a little effort and expect the best result, so why would he let it fall into pieces?

‘I can do it.’

Memories of the past and the ability of the present.

These two things would be his upper hand and would be the game-changers.

Two years after the coming-of-age ceremony, Lucion became an intermediate boss. And the novel’s timeline would take place 2 years after that. So, Lucion still had time to swerve his path on becoming a fallen warlock to save the person he loved from their unfortunate ending.

[Yeah, that happens sometimes. The situation looks different.]

“Right now....”

[No.]

Russell halted Lucion’s words. The latter had sustained a head injury- and among his bruises, this one was a serious injury.

[First, recover from the injury.]

After saying that, Russell abruptly pointed at the door.

Knock.

Then, as if on cue, Lucion heard a knock on the door.

[Now that Novio is here. I’ll talk to you later.]

Russell stepped aside on the spot.

‘Oh...’

Only then did Lucion remember what he had done at the banquet. But there was no regret in his heart.

That damn son of a bitch was swearing at his mother, laughing at his mishap, so how could he have the mercy to leave him unscathed?

‘I should have beaten him up more.’

‘I should have ripped off his ears.’

Whoo!

The door creaked as it opened. Judging from how the door was slammed opened, the person was fuming mad.

“Are you mad?”

Novio, his father, scolded Lucion as soon as he came into the room.

“Didn’t I send you to the banquet, telling you to talk to someone else; or to at least stay there for a minute or ten, then, you can come home as you please after that?”

Novio, as a parent, was concerned about Lucion, who was always confined to his room. So he sent him to the banquet, hoping that his son would meet someone and come back happily. Or even if it’s for a moment, he wished Lucion could get some fresh air outside.

“But what you did was to have a dogfight? Despite being my son, I can’t tolerate such unscrupulous violence!”

In fury, Novio’s neck started to redden as shouted in displeasure- as if there was a blood clot forming.

“If there’s a reason why you used your fist, say it with that smug mouth of yours!”

“Father.”

Ting!

Novio saw a bandage wrapped around Lucion’s head.

Lucion’s constitution didn’t have divine power. He only had a handful of his divine allergies. His divine power really doesn’t have the ability to heal wounds at once, like a miracle, but at least it’s better than medicine.

Lucion was not in a position to fully enjoy the benefits. The wounds healed too late, making Novio nervous.

“Well, let me know who they are.”

Lucion also read Novio’s anxious gaze.

His divine allergy might be real, but now he knew it was due to the darkness, which is the opposite of the light.

“Horaon of the Viscount’s family?”

‘Viscount Horaon...’

Lucion brooded over their family.

How bold to bring a Viscount on this subject.

“I don’t want your reputation to get worse here.”

Novio carefully opened his mouth.

He meant to be self-conscious. Lucion’s reputation had already fallen to the ground since rumors circulated that he was “mad.” Moreover, whenever Lucion appears to the public, he’d really do that.

Despite their efforts to conceal it, the rumor persisted, like pouring water into a pot with a hole.

“Take a rest.”

Novio notified and turned around. But by the time he took a few steps off, he opened his mouth again.

“Lucion.”

Unlike the first time, it was a soft voice.

“Yes, Father.”

“Thank you.”

Novio had already turned his back, so Lucion couldn’t see his expression. But Lucion knew he was pleased.

‘Father.’

Lucion smiled bitterly as he looked at his father’s back.

Even after his fall, Novio became a black wizard trying to protect him and died before Russell.

When Lucion Cronia, in the novel, was killed by the main character and his brother Carson, the latter was able to tell him the truth.

Honestly, Lucion didn’t know his father would think of him like that. Novio’s eyes everytime he looked at him were icy, like he had no expectations for him, making it like a barren desert.

But it was him who was mistaken.

‘My father loved me. More than anyone else.’

‘It’s gonna be different from the novel.’

Lucion pressed his lips.

‘Must be.’

[Learning the sword?]

Russell asked, sticking his face out to the wall. He looked rather surprised.

“Did you hear that?”

[...Hmm. When I became a ghost, my hearing got sharper.]

Russell struggled to cough and carefully walked through the wall and approached Lucion.

[Anyway, tell me.]

“What do you mean?”

[Reason for learning the sword]

“Can’t a black wizard learn the sword?”

[That’s not impossible. I’m not that old-fashioned.]

Russell pointed at himself and grinned.

[Honestly, that’s a good idea. It’s theoretically possible. But no one’s ever done it.]

Russell raised two fingers.

[I think you thought of it on the basis that darkness has no form. Like in my case, I don’t even have the power to maintain my form. So, I have to maintain the form manually.]

A finger was folded.

[Have you ever used an Auror?]

“Nope.”

[Yeah, that’s the biggest reason. It’s a road I’ve never walked before. You’ll have to carve out that path, can you?]

‘No, someone has already walked.’

Lucion was sure who had already succeeded.

“I can.”

[Ok, I’m thrilled to hear that answer.]

“Yes...?”

[I’ve been on the road]

Russell said, adding strength to his voice.

Ting!

‘It’s...’

Lucion was slightly surprised.

This time it was a red thread, not the blue one.

Crisp!

Lucion was noticed by instinct when a thread was cut off.

‘Turning point...?’

[I know how difficult it would be to go down that road. That’s why I didn’t tell you.]

Russell looked at Lucion with praise. Thought it was already a good thing if Lucion learned black magic. But listening to his talk with Novio, Russell rejoiced at his disciple’s will.

How can a master refuse to do this when his student says he will change?

[‘If you want to walk that path, I will guide you as your teacher.’]