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Chapter 34: Rescue

Not long ago, I had visited the Grey Forest of the Demon Dungeon.

I never thought I’d find myself back here again.

I exhaled slowly.

Before me stood an Apostle.

Behind me was Nia, collapsed on the ground.

The timing couldn’t have been worse—or better, depending on how you looked at it.

If I had been even a little late, Nia would have lost his life.

"Why are you here?"

A startled voice came from behind me.

Having succeeded in the spell to reverse his age, Nia had ventured into the Demon Dungeon.

But it seemed the spell wasn’t fully perfected.

The irregular extermination squad has appeared.

Before me, the Apostle, with its four eyes spinning eerily, fixed its gaze.

This Apostle was the Demon Dungeon’s irregular extermination squad.

Apostle of Irregularity.

It appears whenever someone violates the rules of the Demon Dungeon, tasked with swiftly eliminating the threat.

Nia’s spell to reverse his age was incomplete.

That imperfection had summoned the Apostle of Irregularity.

Clang!

In an instant, the Apostle deflected my knife-hand strike.

Its attention hadn’t been focused on me from the start.

Its sole purpose was to eliminate the irregular—Nia.

It had no interest in anything else.

The Apostle bypassed me and swung its blade, directly connected to its arm, toward Nia.

"Not so fast."

I intercepted.

My hand shot up, clashing with the Apostle’s blade mid-swing.

Thanks to countless battles alongside the lazy genius, Ban, I was no stranger to swordplay.

Predicting the Apostle’s sword trajectory, I deflected each strike.

Seizing an opening, I drove my leg into the Apostle’s abdomen.

It staggered back, clearly affected by the heavy blow.

But it wasn’t about to take the hit lying down.

Its mouth opened, light gathering within.

Is it about to fire a beam?

Too bad—I didn’t come here alone.

BOOM!

Before the Apostle could release its beam, a flash of light surged, striking it with devastating force and sending it flying.

In the distance, Sharin stood with her staff aimed.

When our eyes met, she gave me a languid smile.

Sharin Sazaris.

The top mage of the Academy.

Though whimsical, she was nearly unbeatable when placed as a rearguard ally.

Meanwhile, I quickly grabbed Nia’s arm and helped him to his feet.

"Explanations can wait. That staff—it’s tied to some kind of magical anomaly, isn’t it?"

"How do you—"

"I pieced it together. Looks like..."

I frowned.

"Unicorn horn. Quite the nasty trick."

Someone had intentionally set this up, knowing about Nia’s research into age-reversing magic.

Activating magic while under the influence of such a spell inevitably invites disaster.

Robliage, you’re as ruthless as ever.

The Duke of Robliage likely knew about the Apostle of Irregularity.

He must have orchestrated this scenario down to the last detail.

His ability to set the stage was exceptional.

Without lifting a finger, he had effectively assassinated Nia.

But there was one thing Robliage hadn’t accounted for.

The existence of a true irregular.

As someone who had played countless scenarios of The Flame Butterfly, I was a variable he couldn’t predict.

"Who are you?"

Even as Nia ran alongside me, he stared at me with incomprehension.

No matter how much he tried to reason, my sudden appearance made no sense to him.

Crunch.

The Apostle of Irregularity, struck by Sharin’s spell, slowly rose again.

Its twisted limbs realigned grotesquely as it stood, a sight that seemed entirely unnatural.

"I put a lot of power into that. Still kicking, huh?"

Sharin frowned, gripping her staff tightly.

"Sharin, that thing’s immortal. No matter what you throw at it, it won’t die."

The Apostle of Irregularity cannot be killed.

Fueled by the limitless energy of the Demon Dungeon, it regenerates endlessly.

And with time...

Crunch, snap.

It evolves.

Sure enough, the Apostle began its second transformation.

Wings sprouted from its back, and a third arm emerged.

The Apostle’s gaping mouth released a deafening roar, filled with its determination to eliminate the irregular.

BOOM!

Dozens of fireballs rained down, pulverizing the Apostle once more.

The source of the flames was none other than Sharin.

"An immortal, huh?"

Dusting off her crumbling staff, she pulled out a new one.

Around her, magic of various elements swirled.

Most mages are attuned to a single elemental affinity.

Sharin, however, had no such limitations.

"I’m curious. How far can this thing regenerate?"

Her eyes gleamed dangerously.

As a mage, her sheer curiosity was now driving her.

I figured I could leave her to it for now.

Turning to Nia, I said,

"Associate Professor Nia Cynthia, I know you have many questions, but you must realize that someone is after your life."

Nia’s face hardened.

Indeed, this entire situation reeked of a deliberate attempt on his life.

And Nia wasn’t oblivious to it.

"Moreover, they’ll likely come for you again, in ways just as unpredictable as this."

"..."

The person who gave Nia that staff was undoubtedly someone he trusted.

That’s why he had accepted it without suspicion.

If similar incidents were to happen repeatedly, Nia’s life would be constantly at risk.

Now I understand why Robliage is so intent on killing Nia.

Despite its imperfections, Nia’s research into age-reversing magic had shown results.

He was on the cusp of a breakthrough that could revolutionize magic itself.

As a minion of the Demon Sovereign, the Duke of Robliage couldn’t afford to let Nia live.

"How about this? Let’s fake your death in the Demon Dungeon and focus on finding the culprit."

Nia grasped the implication of my words.

Adults couldn’t enter the Demon Dungeon.

As long as Sharin and I kept our mouths shut, Nia’s death could be convincingly staged.

If Nia never returned, no one outside would be the wiser.

Faking his death wouldn’t just protect him in the short term—it would give him a chance to track down those who wanted him dead.

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Moreover, if a similar incident arises in the future, Nia could reappear as a witness and take control of the situation.

“If you’re working under the First Prince, hiding your identity should be entirely possible.”

Nia’s eyes widened in surprise.

It seemed his alliance with the First Prince was still a secret.

That only strengthened my words.

Knowing secrets that others didn’t made my story impossible to ignore.

“If you’re curious, find out for yourself. But for the next two years…”

That was the time until I graduated from Zerion Academy.

With that time, I could drag the Duke of Robliage into the open.

“Two years of working in the shadows wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

I subtly threw out the timeframe.

How Nia would interpret it was anyone’s guess, but I had laid out all the cards I could for now.

“Oh, but since I’ve saved your life, you’ll owe me a favor down the road.”

“Hah, you have a way with words.”

Nia exhaled in disbelief, seemingly astonished by the audacity of my carefree comments.

I smiled slyly in response.

“Don’t worry; it’s a favor related to your little sister.”

I was aiming for a happy ending, after all.

To save Nikita, I’d need Nia’s help—just once.

At this, Nia’s expression shifted drastically.

It was as if I had struck a nerve.

A dark, murderous aura poured out of him, heavier than ever before.

“You can’t have my little sister.”

What on earth was this man misunderstanding now?

“Brother, let’s not jump to conclusions.”

“So, you’ve approached me just to get to my sister, haven’t you? Let me tell you, my sister has grown up admiring me! She likes tall men, not short ones like you!”

Wow, a textbook siscon.

Despite his princely face, this was a bit much.

“That’s not it, so stop misunderstanding. I’m saying Nikita might get into trouble because of Professor Nia Cynthia’s feigned death.”

At the mention of Nikita potentially being in danger, Nia’s anger began to subside.

“…She would go that far for me. That makes sense.”

Whatever his reasoning, as long as he understood, that was fine.

I reached out to Nia.

“Let me see the hand holding the staff.”

“This is a unicorn horn. If I give it to you, it could drain your mana.”

“It’s fine. I have my own protections.”

Nia narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Who the hell are you, really?”

From the information I’d dropped to the mysterious aura I carried, I was nothing but an enigma to him.

I opened Nia’s hand, one finger at a time.

My hand, reinforced with steel-like strength, wasn’t affected by a unicorn’s horn.

“You’ll find out one day.”

The more you investigate, the more you’ll get lost in the mystery.

For now, this much was enough.

Taking the unicorn horn from Nia, I spun it lightly in my hand.

“This will serve as proof of your feigned death, right?”

A mage losing their staff in a magical battlefield was as good as a death sentence.

Not to mention, the unicorn horn embedded in the staff would be a clear piece of evidence.

Of course, all loose ends would be tied by the time the horn became an issue.

Everyone would claim ignorance, and the only one to take the fall would be the artisan who made the staff.

‘In the original timeline, even the First Prince didn’t strongly oppose Nia’s death.’

Nia was a powerful asset, but his death was shrouded in too much uncertainty.

All the circumstantial evidence pointed to the Third Princess’s faction.

However, because of the mysterious methods used, there was no physical proof to hold them accountable.

The First Prince’s and Third Princess’s factions were evenly matched.

Acting rashly could provoke a backlash.

So, Nia’s death ended up being swept under the rug.

Except for one person—Nikita.

She tenaciously pursued the truth of Nia’s death, ultimately concluding it was the work of the Third Princess’s faction.

‘But this time, things are different.’

Nia was alive.

That was the ultimate evidence.

The First Prince’s faction would go all out to expose the Third Princess’s schemes.

‘Duke of Robliage, enjoy your reign while it lasts.’

I had a nice, big humiliation prepared for him.

Hope it tastes great.

“Take this as well.”

At that moment, Nia pulled out a necklace from his robes and handed it to me.

It bore the crest of the Cynthia family.

“This necklace is given to the heir of the Cynthia lineage. With this, my death will seem even more convincing.”

Nia sighed as he explained.

Though he didn’t seem thrilled about dancing to my tune, at least he understood I had no hostility toward him.

“If you mess around with Nikita while I’m gone, I’ll kill you.”

And with that, he left a sharp warning.

In Nia’s eyes, I was nothing more than a man trying to seduce his sister.

“How’s a dead man going to kill me?”

I couldn’t resist responding to provocations.

“Excuse meee.”

A voice cut through my banter with Nia.

It was Sharin, pointing at something with a troubled expression.

What she indicated was a monstrosity so twisted it defied description—the Apostle of Irregularity.

How much magic had she unleashed on it?

It had already undergone ten evolutions.

Sharin showed me her empty waist holsters.

It seemed she had used up all the staves she had been carrying.

“It won’t die from magic anymore.”

The Apostle of Irregularity gains immunity to either magical or physical attacks after being killed ten times.

I was stunned.

Just how many times had she taken it down?

“Grrrrrr…”

The Apostle of Irregularity growled, clearly enraged by the absurd magical onslaught it had endured.

I made a swift decision.

“Let’s run.”

And with that, we bolted for dear life.

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