Chapter – 23
“What on earth is happening? We haven’t seen a single monster…”
The knights who had climbed the mountain to find Piranceva hadn’t encountered a single monster all the way to the summit.
It felt as if the monsters had fled, afraid of encountering something—or someone—with power similar to Miyu’s.
“That just makes this creepier.”
“Something must have gone terribly wrong. Could it be a black mage?”
At the words black mage, the knights stiffened.
Black magic—magic used by the demons—especially curses and experiments that create vile living beings to throw the world into chaos. The mages who used such darkness were called black mages.
For centuries, black mages had sought the resurrection of the demon race and repeatedly attacked both the Empire and kingdoms, causing enormous suffering.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Black mages disappeared over twenty years ago.”
But no one could say for sure that black mages were gone. Now and then, they appeared again, sowing chaos.
“Quiet.”
Senior knight Rodman silenced them and examined the surroundings.
“Robin. Take three knights and scout ahead. Don’t go beyond fifty meters.”
Robin and three others moved forward. Rodman continued giving instructions.
He deployed knights fifty meters apart in every direction and then shouted loudly.
“Can everyone hear me?”
“Yes!”
When the answer came back, Rodman ordered:
“Maintain this formation and advance another fifty meters.”
They moved forward slowly, looking for any trace of Piranceva.
Then—
“Huh? What brings you all here?”
A sudden voice made Rodman whip his head around in shock.
Piranceva was standing there with a big cloth sack full of something slung over his back.
“Piranceva!”
Hearing the shout, the other knights rushed back, equally startled.
None of us sensed him approach.
That was everyone’s shared thought as they stared at the suddenly appearing Piranceva.
The knights who had been spread out soon returned upon hearing Rodman and now stood around Piranceva.
“You little brat…”
Thwack!
Dwayne approached and flicked Piranceva hard on the forehead.
“Ow!”
Piranceva grabbed his head with a teary-eyed grimace. Dwayne exchanged a look with Rodman.
“What happened? Why are you so late?”
Rodman asked.
“I was gathering herbs when some monsters spotted me. I ran until I found a small cave… and…”
Piranceva told them about the hobgoblin cave.
“There were hobgoblin corpses inside.”
“Hobgoblin corpses?”
There were goblins in Mount Mantova, but never hobgoblins.
“You mean they were in there?”
“Yes. But they were all dead—just bones left behind. And there was a magic circle drawn there too. From what I could tell, black mages must have done something.”
“What? A black mage?”
“Yes. I was being chased, so I couldn’t leave right away. While hiding, I studied the circle. It was a summoning circle, and I think the hobgoblins were summoned by mistake, then died.”
There was no sign of deception in Piranceva’s words.
“Can you take us back there?”
“Yes. It’s close.”
“Hobgoblins don’t live on Mount Mantova. If they were brought here, other monsters could have been brought in too. We need to confirm the scene.”
“Then the mountain’s monsters may have been affected as well.”
“That’s likely. Piranceva, lead the way.”
“Yes, follow me.”
Piranceva led them to the hobgoblin cave.
He had originally entered through a rabbit burrow, but with the knights he took the normal route—a small crack near the summit.
“It’s here.”
He entered, and the knights followed.
“Light!”
Piranceva cast Light to illuminate the cave. The knights stared at him in shock.
No signs of spell preparation… No chant… No mana flow…
Normally, a mage needed to rotate their mana circle, organize mana flow, align it in forward, reverse, or twisted patterns, and then a spell would activate.
But Piranceva’s Light ignored all of those steps and just… activated.
Whether he knew what they were thinking or not, Piranceva simply carried on.
He brought them to where the hobgoblins had stayed, and the knights found the skeletal remains scattered around.
They dispersed inside the cave, each investigating in their own way.
Rodman inspected the magic circle drawn on the ground.
Seeing him, Piranceva felt quietly impressed.
Now I understand why people call the Lawrence Marquisate’s knights the best.
There were stronger knights out there, sure—but none with this level of dedication. It even made him jealous of the Eastern Marquis.
“There’s warmth left in the circle, but we can’t tell if it’s Piranceva’s mana or the mage who used it.”
“Piranceva said the hobgoblins were already dead when he arrived, so the culprit must have left before that. It seems whoever manipulated mana here was experimenting on monsters.”
“Do you think it’s black mages?”
“We’ll investigate that now. For the moment, collect the hobgoblin remains and withdraw. Monster subjugation ends here.”
“Yes, sir!”
The knights moved quickly.
Piranceva knew this whole commotion had started because of him, but he pretended not to.
I’d better focus more on training the martial arts stored in my mind once we return.
Monster subjugation ended ten days earlier than scheduled. The knights and soldiers returned to the marquisate. Merchants grumbled about the early end, but could do nothing more.
Piranceva resumed training with the knight trainees, and at night he practiced the martial arts imprinted in his mind.
Meanwhile, Marquis Eastern formed an official investigation team and sent them to Mount Mantova.
But they found nothing—and there were no signs of foreign monsters. The case was closed.
Still, the marquisate kept its guard up, regularly checking the mountain and watching for black mages among the people.
And so time passed. Piranceva spent another year in the Eastern Marquisate, now turning eleven.
Because of mana’s blessing and his reconstructed physique, he had grown remarkably—already 180 centimeters tall at just eleven.
Training balance, core strength, and flexibility had sculpted him into a body like a work of art—balanced and lean compared to the bulky muscles of knights, yet far superior to most mages.
And he wasn’t weaker than any knight trainee—he was the strongest among them. The martial arts in his mind had taught him how to exert power efficiently.
As he learned the marquisate’s swordsmanship and his own demonic martial arts, peaceful days continued…
Until a single event shook the Empire.
“Is this true?”
Marquis Eastern widened his eyes in disbelief.
“Yes. The Illya County is in total chaos right now.”
The one reporting was none other than Elina.
“Black magic… that’s unbelievable…”
It wasn’t confirmed yet, but word reached the Emperor that Count Armand had delved into black magic in an attempt to overthrow the Empire. A giant magic circle had supposedly been drawn across the county to summon demons.
The Emperor sent troops to verify it.
And indeed—traces of black magic were everywhere. Chimera-type creatures called Derbies—failed test subjects of black mages—had attacked imperial troops, causing heavy losses. The army now surrounded Illya Castle.
Elina, with Count Armand’s help, used a teleportation circle to escape to the Lawrence Marquisate and was now reporting everything.
“It’s a setup. If Count Armand had studied black magic, the signs would’ve appeared long ago.”
“Yes… I know well that he’s not that sort of man.”
Marquis Eastern frowned.
“The Mantova incident… and now this… It seems the black mages have begun moving again.”
“What?”
“Last winter on Mount Mantova…”
Elina listened and quickly concluded that the black mages were plotting something.
Those damned wretches have shown themselves again. Anything related to the demon race—I’ll tear it apart with my own hands.
Marquis Eastern felt the fury radiating from her and flinched.
“You must have learned quite a bit from Count Armand.”
“Yes. I’ve formed three mana rings.”
“You reached 3rd-circle magic?”
“Yes. And my swordsmanship has reached the level of a mana-user.”
Under normal circumstances, he would have celebrated, but they lacked the luxury.
“You’ve done well. I’d throw a party for you, but this is hardly the time.”
“If the Emperor discovers that Piranceva is here, he’ll send knights to seize him. We must hide him.”
“You’re right. But where should we send him…?”
“Count Armand said to tell Piranceva everything and send him to the Cabin of the Silent Forest.”
“The… Silent Forest Cabin?”
“I don’t know where it is. Even the two young lords who escaped with me were teleported somewhere in that direction.”
Marquis Eastern searched his memory, but no such place existed in the Empire.
Is it a hidden power of the Illya family?
Just as the Eastern family had their Crows, perhaps the Illya family had similar secret forces.
“I understand. I’ll summon Piranceva and tell him everything. Then I must head to the palace.”
“Please do.”
“And what will you do now?”
“I’ll enter the Academy next year and continue studying magic.”
“Have you still not found your answer?”
“I have. That’s why I need to learn more magic.”
“Very well. Rest now. I’ll speak to Piranceva and then depart for the Imperial Palace.”
