Episode 26
The Inheritance Battle
But it melted.
Only the lower half of the spy’s body was left in the yard. Next to it, the orb trembled like it felt sorry.
Bzzzz…
“It’s okay. What can you do?”
I had just miscalculated. I thought it would last around 10 minutes, but that wasn’t even close.
Too bad. I’ll just have to enjoy the fun later. I still have things to do.
“Please take care of the rest too.”
I asked the orb to absorb the remaining essence. But instead of going to the spy’s body, it came toward me.
“Huh? Why?”
BZZZZ!
With a strong vibration, the poison flowing in my body began to gather in one place.
My left arm.
And then into my left hand.
“Oh… right.”
I forgot—I should get rid of the poison first.
I raised my palm and controlled the poison. Bright red poison gathered into my hand and slowly formed into a ball in the air.
Ssshh!
It looked like a small orb.
Buzz!
The real orb quickly absorbed the smaller one. My swollen body started to calm down.
And at the same time, my strength faded.
It felt like sand slipping through my fingers. I felt empty and a little sad.
But really…
I had just returned to normal. Both my powers and emotions.
Bzzz!
Finally, the orb turned and consumed the spy’s lower body.
Fsssh!
The leftover flesh quickly melted away. I stared at the now slightly bigger orb.
“Hmmm…”
It gave off a different energy—probably from the spy’s essence.
“…You. Come out.”
A faint smoke seeped out of the orb.
Fsshh!
The smoke floated around like a ghost and let out a moan.
“Ugh… Where… Where am I…?”
“So, what’s your name?”
“Re… Redin… Roka…”
Redin Roka.
He’s the spy who sits in the front row of my class.
“It was you? First-year, Class B, Redin Roka?”
“Ugh…”
I suddenly remembered our homeroom teacher’s troubled face. Sorry, Professor Totten. Looks like we’ve lost another student in our class.
Anyway, Redin probably wasn’t his real name. But I didn’t want to waste time asking like last time.
So from now on, he’s Spy No. 2. I had to get useful information from him before his soul disappeared.
Depending on whether he was from the Poison King Family or the Poison King Sect, I prepared different questions. Based on what he said earlier, he was clearly from the Poison King Sect.
“First question. Who is the main target your sect is watching at the academy?”
If they were watching someone, that person must be important. I might need to warn them in advance.
“Ugh… Main target? How do you know about—?”
“The first spy told me. You collect info, and even assassinate if necessary. So who is it?”
“T-The target is… D.”
“D?”
“D.”
“Is that a name or just an initial?”
“D… We’re watching D and reporting back… N-No…”
The smoke shook like a candle in the wind. Wait, no way—are you fading already?
“I… I have a mission… I can’t disappear like this… I’m a secret agent…”
“Secret agent?”
“Yes.”
“But earlier you said you were just a grunt?”
“I am NOT a grunt!”
Suddenly, the fading smoke flared up like fire.
“My name is Ithers! I was personally chosen and trained by the Vice Leader! I’m a proud secret agent of the sect’s elite force—White Hand! Don’t you dare call me a grunt!”
“White Hand?”
“Yes!”
“Wow, sounds fancy. But all you do is sneak around at night and kill weak girls.”
“What?! You… ugh…”
I must’ve hit a sore spot. As he started to fade again, I quickly changed my tone.
“No, no, I didn’t mean it. Don’t take it seriously. Spy No. 2, you’re a great secret agent.”
“Ugh…”
“Of course. You’re even above Spy No. 1, right? Baldinger, I mean.”
“B-Baldinger?”
“Yeah. Baldinger.”
“Baldinger is a lower-rank agent… My subordinate… He guarded the base…”
“Base? Where?”
“The base… is…”
The smoke turned and pointed toward the dorm building.
“The base is here…”
“Here? Highwind Dorm?”
“Ugh…”
So I was right. It makes sense. There couldn’t be a better hideout for a spy.
“Next question. Both you and Baldinger enrolled at the academy, so you can use aura, right?”
“Ugh…”
“But Baldinger’s body was full of poison. I’m guessing yours was too. But aura and poison don’t mix. So how did you manage to use aura with poison in your body?”
Aura naturally purifies poison. The smoke flickered again, getting weaker.
“That’s… because we gather the poison into one place… and seal it in a Poison Core…”
“Poison Core? Like an organ?”
“It’s a special pouch… surgically placed inside the body… separated from everything else… so it doesn’t react with aura…”
“Oh, so that’s what that pouch inside the body was. Impressive.”
“Ugh…”
“So every spy in the academy can use aura, right?”
“Y-Yes. It’s a must for secret agents…”
“Why?”
“…Why?”
“If you can use aura, you could just join this side and live peacefully. Why go through all this and ruin your body?”
That was the real question. His mind started shaking violently again.
“Don’t be ridiculous! You southern brat!”
“What?”
“I am a proud Northerner, born in Eternal! Following the will of the first Poison King, I was born with the duty to destroy and purify this world!”
“That’s important to you?”
“You don’t understand! Our honor! Our duty! The pain of someone like me, a Northerner who inherited a strong poison sensitivity!”
“Pain?”
“Yes! There’s a limit to how much poison I can hold!”
The smoke grabbed its own body and screamed.
“Damn it! I must never go beyond the limit of the Poison Core! But I had to give that up just to pretend I could use aura! Just to fool people like you!”
“You hate aura that much? Why?”
“That’s why you’re corrupt! Born lucky with aura but don’t even realize how filthy it is!”
Actually, I kind of get what he means. But I didn’t say anything. If I agreed, he’d just go off-topic again.
“I wanted to hold more poison! Control stronger poison! Even if it meant becoming a poison freak! If I could kill even one more of your kind, I’d have no regrets! But I gave up that glory just to trick you! And now I end up here like this… ugh…”
That was the end.
They say a candle burns brightest right before it goes out.
He used all his remaining strength… and vanished without a trace.
“…What was that all about?”
He just kidnapped kids and acted like he was something great.
Well, at least his ending was pathetic. That cheered me up a bit.
But it’s not enough.
I want them all to suffer more. I hope their misery comes pouring down like a flood.
“That would be great… Don’t you think so?”
I looked at the orb and asked. But my family inside it seemed focused elsewhere.
Bzzzz…
“What is it? Is someone coming?”
–No.
–Next building.
–Underground.
So not someone—but something… in the basement of the next building?
Maybe I misheard. This isn’t clear communication like language.
But the meaning was obvious. The orb had absorbed the spy’s hidden info.
And the only building next to us is the dorm.
It’s the only dorm on the whole Grave Mountain.
So…
“There’s something under Highwind Dorm?”
BZZZ!
The orb confirmed it with a strong buzz.
But our dorm doesn’t have a basement.
Then… what’s supposed to be there?
Meanwhile
At the main base of the Poison King Sect—Eternal Snow Village—everyone was celebrating.
“Oh! Poison King!”
A boy walked alone through a crowd of tens of thousands. Cheers, bows, and praise filled the streets.
“You’ve finally returned!”
“Our king!”
“Savior! Purifier!”
“Hooray! Long live Kainens!”
“I can’t believe I lived to see this day… sob.”
“Poison King forever!”
The chants changed because their one true Poison King had returned.
Kainens, the first and legendary Poison King of the family.
He looked different—much younger—but anyone who understood poison could sense his overwhelming power.
The poison in his eyes, the scentless, colorless poison radiating around him—he dominated the area.
Most of the villagers were experts in poison.
“Oh… Poison King…”
The Vice Leader, watching from afar, teared up.
This was the day they had waited for. The true master of the Poison King Family had returned.
Everyone was overjoyed.
The Poison King Family had fallen.
The people here hated the fake Poison King who only cared about money, and the elders who controlled him like a puppet.
They truly wished for the destruction of the Sword King Family. The old man cried, sharing the people’s hopes.
“Yes. He will fix everything. He’ll rebuild the Poison King Family… and destroy the Sword King Family…”
But he only agreed on the outside.
Anyone can pretend to understand others—even if their true thoughts are different.
“…Vice Leader.”
A man in a white coat appeared behind him. The Vice Leader wiped his frozen tears and replied.
“The leader of White Hand reporting in person? Something must be wrong. Powell.”
“Apologies, sir,” Powell said, removing his hood and showing his masked face.
“There’s a problem in the Bryce region. Both the main and backup agents have gone silent.”
