Chapter 105

With his mana raised to its peak, he cast Reverse against the Insight.

The pain came on fiercely, as if it had been waiting.

The unique magic from his past life was developed to match Edmund’s enormous mana output, so its mana consumption was immense.

Moreover, Eddie’s mana circle was already close to overload.

It was the perfect opportunity for Rakan’s mana to snatch the initiative from Eddie’s circle.

And unlike before, this time, Eddie needed that rampage.

The moment Rakan’s mana approached his circle, Eddie offered no resistance and surrendered the initiative.

As he did, the power of Reverse increased explosively.

“……!!!”

Sylvia’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

The Insight, unleashed with Rakan’s mana, soon swallowed the entire Shainborough without restraint.

Although it was Circe’s power contained in a doll, the story changes when the power unleashing it belongs to the King of Magical Beasts.

Eddie’s two eyes shone with a brilliant golden light.

The extreme pain, paradoxically, heightened his concentration.

Eddie gritted his teeth and limited the scope of the Insight’s application.

All mana users except for Furas von Kirhausen.

All of them.

“Sleep.”

The voice that commanded firmly was low and unwavering.

Drip-

A stream of crimson blood flowed from the corner of Eddie’s mouth.

But the sound of dozens of people, who had been lying in ambush in the mansion, collapsing simultaneously made him smile.

‘It’s done.’

Wipe-

Wiping the blood from his mouth, Eddie looked down at Sylvia, who was sprawled at his feet.

A Homunculus whose mind had been destroyed by the explosive power of Reverse.

This marked the third time he had broken Sylvia.

Of course, the second Sylvia, who had gone somewhere, had not yet been discarded.

The reason she hadn't been discarded yet was likely because they hadn't figured out the cause of the malfunction.

But this time, he had properly broken Sylvia and even used the Insight she contained.

Now, the Kirhausen family would also find out.

That the culprit who had been breaking Sylvia all this time was Eddie.

And that Eddie, for some reason, could handle not only sorcery but also Circe’s Insight.

To figure out Eddie’s true identity, they would not be able to easily discard the second Sylvia.

They would investigate and investigate again to find out about Eddie’s power.

But the Mowiseong that Eddie had cast on the second Sylvia was not a magic that could ever be traced.

And in the end, the moment they discarded the second Sylvia without any gains.

Eddie would learn a lot of information through Mowiseong.

Of course, it would be information accompanied by immense pain, but he was willing to endure it if it meant he could find out about his unknown enemy.

Thinking about the future, Eddie walked over to the listening item hanging on the wall.

“It was a little noisy, wasn’t it?”

There was no longer any pretense in his tone as he spoke to Furas.

“Now, the Head and I can finally speak alone.”

“……”

“There’s no need to send any more people. I’ll come up.”

After a brief notification, Eddie left the room.

His destination was where Furas was currently located.

The Head’s office, located on the fifth floor.

No one had told Eddie that Furas was there.

But there was nowhere else.

The audacious usurper who had always dreamed of the top, hiding his true intentions alongside his father, Ivan.

The only place he would be is the highest place.

That place, where a powerful mana aura could be felt now that most mana users had been put to sleep.

Eddie unhesitatingly climbed the stairs to the fifth floor.

On his way up, he could see people collapsed in various places throughout the mansion.

They were all dressed in servant’s attire.

‘As expected. They disguised the family’s affiliated magicians as servants to subdue me.’

Originally, most of the servants in Shainborough were not mana users.

So, the fact that every single servant was collapsed like this meant they were either disguised magicians or Homunculi.

It was a good thing he had pushed himself a little to apply the Insight to ‘mana users’ instead of just ‘magicians’, so that it would affect knights and sorcerers as well.

Thanks to such prudence, Eddie was able to reach the fifth floor without any interruptions.

There were people collapsed in servant’s attire there as well, and among them was a familiar face.

It was Shane.

“……”

As he walked down the hallway, the collapsed body of Shane drew near his feet.

Instead of stepping over Shane’s body, Eddie slightly changed his direction and passed by his side.

Although it was by Furas' order, it was a final courtesy to the man who had done his best to teach him.

Thump, thump, thump-

At last, he arrived in front of the Head’s office.

As if proving that Furas was inside, a very heavy aura seeped out from between the cracks of the door.

It was a faint amount, but it was a very heavy and highly refined mana.

Throb-

Eddie glanced at his throbbing left side.

Pain arose even though he wasn't using mana.

Rakan’s mana was reacting to Furas' mana.

The will of Rakan, who had just taken out his frustration on the minions of his nemesis.

His anger seemed to be intensifying now that he was before the nemesis himself, and because of that, Eddie felt even more pain.

But right now, no amount of pain could disturb Eddie’s composure.

Before entering the office, Eddie turned his head and looked at the large window located at the end of the hallway.

The blue sky of Shainborough, visible outside the window.

Eddie’s concealed wand was diligently drawing a summoning circle, cutting through that sky.

However, the creation of the summoning circle was slower than he had thought.

‘70%… It’s still not enough. I need to buy some time to complete it.’

It was because he had pushed himself earlier and couldn't properly concentrate his power on the summoning incantation.

It was a situation where he had to buy a little more time even after hearing Furas' confession about Well and Deer.

He was worried if Marcel could hold on, but he had to make it work somehow.

Eddie briefly closed his eyes and clutched the Oath Gem Clode inside his clothes.

It felt as if the mana essences of his five disciples were giving him strength.

When Eddie opened his eyes again, his expression was more determined than ever.

Knock, knock, knock-

Eddie knocked on the office door.

Then, the two large doors opened inwards, welcoming Eddie.

The first thing that caught his eye was the teal-colored tobacco smoke that filled the office.

The smoke made the figure of Furas sitting on the sofa so blurry that he looked almost like an illusion.

But the Furas before him was real, not a phantom.

He could tell from his heavy aura that filled the room just as much as the tobacco smoke.

Eddie stepped into the office, as if entering a fog.

As soon as he entered, the door slowly closed.

It meant that there was magic on the door, but Eddie paid it no mind and walked on.

He wouldn't be leaving this room through that door anyway.

Furas was sitting not at his desk, but on the sofa.

And on the coffee table in front of him, a chessboard and chess pieces were set up.

“Sit.”

Furas said, slowly exhaling teal-colored tobacco smoke.

Eddie slowly walked over and sat on the sofa opposite Furas.

It had been two months since they had faced each other.

“Hooooo……”

Furas exhaled a thick cloud of tobacco smoke towards the front.

The teal-colored smoke touched Eddie’s body and spread around him.

The tobacco leaves in the pipe looked dark and strong, but the scent of the smoke was not acrid.

Nor was it a poisonous smoke that killed those who inhaled it.

Eddie focused his mind on the reaction of his mana circle.

As soon as he entered the office, he had been controlling his breathing, taking only very small breaths just in case.

This was to gauge the reaction after inhaling a minuscule amount of smoke.

Fortunately, there were no abnormal reactions.

‘Well, since he’s inhaling the most himself, it’s probably not a device that inhibits mana.’

Thinking so, Eddie restored his breathing to normal.

“……”

“……”

The two faced each other in silence amidst the teal-colored tobacco smoke.

As befitting those who had reigned, and were reigning, as the master of Kirhausen, the two of them looked very natural enveloped in the teal color.

The one who broke the silence first was Furas.

“Do you know how to play chess?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Did you learn at the orphanage?”

“No, I already knew.”

“A curious answer.”

“But it’s not a lie, is it? Would you like to play with the black pieces?”

“……”

Eddie, who offered the black pieces without hesitation.

At his words, Furas, who was bringing the pipe to his mouth, flinched.

And at the same time, a light flashed for a moment in his eyes, which had been as if covered in fog.

Among nobles, offering the white chess pieces signifies respect, while offering the black chess pieces signifies looking down on someone.

In other words, Eddie had thrown a provocation at Furas.

It was a rule among nobles, an archaic custom quite distant from an orphan from an orphanage.

Yet, watching Eddie, who so familiarly offered the black pieces, Furas pondered for a moment.

Was it just a coincidence?

Or had some upper-class person taken Eddie under their wing and taught him?

In his mind, Furas pictured the face of the most likely candidate for that ‘someone’.

Leodimir Duke Devens.

His suspicion that Eddie had that cunning man behind him gained another layer of weight.

For now, Furas suppressed the anger that showed in his eyes and, as Eddie said, picked up a black piece.

Then, he placed the piece on the chessboard first.

Tak-

The two played chess in silence for a while.

Only the small sound of pieces being placed continued in the silence.

And with each piece placed, Furas' tobacco smoke made the office even foggier.

Tak-

About five minutes passed like that.

Next to the chessboard, the pieces they had captured were piled up.

There were more black pieces than white ones.

Just like when a young Furas had played chess with someone decades ago.

“Hooo……”

Furas exhaled tobacco smoke and looked at the chessboard.

The piece of his that Eddie had just captured was a ‘knight’, which had been in a strategically important position.

The one that captured the knight was Eddie’s white ‘pawn’.

Following the offer of the black pieces, it was an act that grated on his nerves.

Looking at that pawn, Furas finally opened his mouth.

“What do you plan to do once you leave Kirhausen?”

“……”

“Do you plan to go under Dean Devens' wing and become his prized disciple?”

“Didn’t you already take measures to prevent that? Through the investigation committee meeting.”

“That was to guard against Dean Devens taking you from Kirhausen and pulling you to his side. But……”

Furas' gaze, which had been on the chessboard, turned to Eddie.

“If you were Dean Devens' person from the beginning, the story would be different, wouldn’t it?”

“…You think I infiltrated Kirhausen with intent from the very beginning.”

“Do you wish to say that’s not the case?”

“Hmm… Yes. I would like to.”

“And can you prove to me that it’s not?”

“Do I have to prove something to you in this place?”

“……”

At the defiant retort, Furas' eyes flashed once more.

An attitude that did not lower itself at all in front of the head of the Kirhausen family.

Eddie was already conversing with Furas on an equal footing.

Furas, who had lived his entire life with others beneath his feet, realized this late.

Furas' eyes gleamed with a brilliant light, as if to pierce through Eddie.

And Eddie met that gaze as if to ask what the problem was.

A heavy silence descended, and after a moment, Furas' low laughter was heard.

The usurper of Kirhausen, laughing with a low rumble in his throat while holding a pipe.

Eddie watched him, rolling the black knight of Furas he had just captured in his hand.

He had a feeling that the purpose of his coming here would soon be achieved.

“Ah- I seem to have forgotten for a moment. I was still seeing you as that orphan from the orphanage.”

“……”

“Then now, as you ‘wish’, I shall ask on equal terms.”

“……”

“Since when did you know that we intended to have your mana absorbed by Marcel?”

Twirl-

The black knight rolled once in Eddie’s hand.

And at the same time.

Marcel’s Tracker, which had been on Eddie, weakened significantly.

The shocked Marcel’s stamina had hit rock bottom.

The fact that Marcel’s stamina had dropped to the point where he couldn't maintain the Tracker meant that he had clearly heard the words that had just come out of his father’s mouth.

In other words, it meant that the purpose of Eddie’s coming to Shainborough had just been achieved.

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