Magister Insanity

When I finished my story, the air grew heavy. The chatter around us died away, and I could feel countless eyes on me. The whole place had gone silent, and the atmosphere was strange. It was as though I'd just peeled off my skin and forced everyone to look at what lay underneath.

Even Gundric paused mid-bite, finally lifting his gaze to me for the first time. His expression was unreadable, but there was something odd in his eyes. Lancer, on the other hand, looked downright horrified.

What was happening here?

There had to be some kind of misunderstanding.

Then Gundric spoke, his tone grim.

"You… you're saying you killed fifty people?"

"Eh?" The word slipped out before I could stop it. I tilted my head, genuinely confused. "Huh? When did I ever say I killed fifty people?"

His eyes narrowed.

"Just now. You mentioned there were forty to fifty people at the start of your Phrase, and you said they were all killed. Then you went on to describe in detail how the last four survivors died, or rather, how they were killed."

So? I don't see how I said anything wrong there.

Then, unexpectedly, Gundric added, "I feel like I should inform you of something."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

He hesitated before continuing in an oddly calm tone.

"It's about my Curse. To be precise, the curse I received upon completing my First Phrase and awakening as a Sleepless. I can always tell when someone is lying to me. So when you explained everything just now, I knew right away you were telling the truth. But it feels like your story wasn't fully clear. So let me ask… did you actually kill those people?"

For a moment, my mind went blank.

So his curse could detect lies? How in the world was that even considered a curse? Did he not realize that most people ended up with far worse flaws?

I shot the golden boy a glare, curses bubbling in my head before fading just as quickly.

Then the realization struck.

The misunderstanding wasn't in what I said, but in how I had said it. And when I thought about how ridiculous it sounded, a laugh escaped me as I clarified,

"No, no, you're misunderstanding. I didn't kill everyone who was with me during my First Phrase, if that's what you were thinking."

Gundric blinked, clearly taken aback. Before he could say anything, Lancer cut in.

"Wait, hold on a second… then what exactly happened? You said they were killed, didn't you?"

Turning my gaze to him, I said in a relaxed manner.

"Yes, they were all killed, but I wasn't the one who did the killing. The real culprit was the Fallen Nightmare known as the Hollow Knight. Around the third day on the Forbidden Isle, we were ambushed by said Creature, and most of the survivors were wiped out. At that point, there was no food, no water, and everyone had been wandering aimlessly, exhausted and half-delirious. It was only a matter of time before something like that happened."

Frowning, Lancer asked:

"Then... what about the remaining four survivors? What happened to them?"

Gathering my thoughts, I remained silent and pushed down the flood of emotions emerging from within.

"Ah, the remaining four… it's not a complicated matter." My voice came out low, almost bitter. "Once the group was attacked, we knew time wasn't on our side. The Fallen Nightmare had gone out of its way to hunt down those who fled. Seizing the chance, we pressed on through the black mountains under torchlight. But the path ahead was sealed, and so we were forced to climb the ridge to reach an older trail. That was when everything began to unravel. One of them slipped… and fell."

With a pause, I allowed the memory to sink in before continuing.

"Afterward, we found a cave to weather the night. But when morning came, another of our group was gone, she had died in her sleep. We buried her in the snow before moving on. A week dragged by as we pushed toward our destination, hounded relentlessly by the Hollow Knight's minions. More than once, we barely survived. Yet, when we finally reached the peak of the black mountains, all that awaited us was a cursed trap."

I clicked my tongue bitterly.

"At the summit stood a ruined temple. We thought it might offer shelter or even salvation. But instead, it was nothing but a prison wrapped in malice. We only realized the truth when we tried to leave… and couldn't. In the end, despair consumed us. One of them lost their mind and, in madness, turned a gun on the other and shot him point-blank between the eyes, killing him on the spot."

Gundric's shoulders trembled vividly, while Lancer's expression softened, though a flicker of resentment still burned in his gaze.

His jaw tightened as he demanded, "Then what happened after that?"

This time, I shrugged wearily.

"Isn't it obvious? After putting a bullet in his own companion, the crazed bastard came for me next. And truth be told… I understood him. After everything we'd been through, after all the hell we suffered, maybe losing his mind was the only thing left for him. But still, trying to kill me was a damn cruel move in that moment. That jerk."

Gritting my teeth, I added,

"So I tricked him with my Legacy Ability… and when he let his guard down, I drove a paring knife into his neck. I watched the light drain from his eyes. That's the gist of it. But when I told that story to the others, their reactions were… strange. The male elf spat on the floor and called me a heartless bastard. The female elf doubled over and vomited. And the beast folk? He just went pale with horror before bolting like the hounds of hell were after him. It was really strange. And so, after that, I was suddenly known as the Heartless Devil everywhere I went."

Silence pressed in for a moment until Gundric laughed.

Startled, I could only stare at him in confusion.

What the hell was so funny?

Come to think of it, I had never once seen Gundric smile, let alone laugh. He always carried that cold, indifferent mask, the kind of face that made it seem nothing in this world could touch the golden prince. So when he suddenly broke into laughter, it was surprising.

For a moment, I even thought he'd lost his mind.

Across from me, Lancer ground his teeth, the veins in his neck standing out as he snapped,

"You idiot! Don't you realize how you phrase your words can cause misunderstandings?!"

† †

Moving through the outskirts of the cursed forest of Eldergrove was Enlightened Sonic, accompanied by his female assistant. Each carried a lantern, its faint glow pushing back the heavy veil of darkness as they pressed deeper into the forest.

Tonight, they were searching for something or rather, someone.

Earlier, word had reached them that a student had gone missing. The boy's name was Zephyr, a member of the Sky Wind Clan. According to his friends, he often lingered on the borders of demonic territory, hunting beasts for their essence cores. Ordinarily, such an incident would not have required the personal involvement of the head instructor.

Any of the academy's officials would have sufficed for a simple search. However, driven by an unshakable gut feeling, Sonic had chosen to take the matter into his own hands.

As for his assistant, her presence was expected. She was the sort who followed him everywhere, so he allowed her to join without objection. A second pair of eyes was useful in a place like this; even the smallest detail might prove vital.

The canopy overhead, thick with ancient leaves, let almost no moonlight pass. Mist curled between the trees like pale serpents, leaving the forest swaddled in an impenetrable darkness. One might have wondered if there was any hope of finding the missing student here at all. But such doubts were useless.

Their duty was to the academy, and more importantly, to the protection of all Sleepless before their inevitable descent into Horror.

Not long after, a foul scent cut through the damp air. It was faint at first, but unmistakable; the metallic tang of blood.

They followed the trail until it led them to a swamp. Sonic raised his lantern, its light pushing back the shadows. The surface of the water rippled faintly, but no beast revealed itself.

Instead, the ground nearby was littered with bloodied scraps of clothing. The sight told enough of the story: something violent had happened here.

"This is…" the assistant whispered, realization dawning in her eyes.

Sonic's expression darkened. "Yes. It seems we've found what became of our missing student."

Zephyr was dead. Torn apart, most likely, by demonic beasts. It was a common fate for Sleepless. Some arrogant enough to believe they were stronger than they truly were, only to learn, too late, that they weren't as strong as they thought and get fucked.

But something about this case was different. This Sleepless was no ordinary student. Zephyr was an Imperial.

Just because the Lesser Clans were not as formidable as the Great Imperial Clans did not mean they lacked intensity. All Imperials were trained in the art of combat long before they could even walk. Their clans possessed an abundance of resources, among them essence shards, which further widened the gap between them and ordinary Blasphemers.

For these reasons alone, it made little sense for an Imperial to fall to beasts, especially here on the outskirts where only low level monsters roamed.

Was he truly that careless? No. The truth was more complicated.

Simultaneously thinking this, both of them began to search around for any possible clues they could find.

It did not take long for Sonic to discover the carcasses of two slain beasts. Upon closer inspection, they proved to be Scavengers. More concerning was the way they had been killed. Wide gashes tore across their rotting hides, and one of them had been cleanly decapitated, the cut suggesting the strike of a sword.

His brows knit together.

"Scavengers? Zephyr was killed by Scavengers? That would make sense, since they are Waking Beasts that travel in packs. But what were they doing in the outskirts?"

This was unusual behavior. Monsters did on occasion wander into the outskirts to prey upon weaker beasts, but such incidents were rare.

That rarity was precisely why the outskirts were considered safe enough for Sleepless to hunt dormant fiends and harvest their shards before retreating. Even if Scavengers had slipped into the area, their presence should have been immediately apparent. The foul, rotting stench that clung to their bodies betrayed them long before they ever appeared.

Unless…

"Instructor, I found something."

His assistant's voice echoed softly.

Sonic walked over, curiosity stirring within him. She was crouched low, examining the ground with care. As his gaze followed the light of her lantern, he noticed it too; a faint trail of footprints, almost concealed by the mud.

Those footprints were not the marks of beasts.

Someone else had been here.