The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

Two years ago,

In the midst of the mountain range in the southeast of the Garam Kingdom, within an underground ruin.

Luna, stopping in front of a dusty book on a dusty shelf, paused her steps.

Contrary to the grandiose epithet of being called the Scripture of the Gods, the condition of preservation was not so good.

She gently brushed off the dust piled on the book and finally unfolded it.

Soon, a colorful glow shot up to the ceiling as if welcoming her, illuminating her.

“You’ve grown a lot, little lady. Can I just call you Lady now?”

In a teasing voice that tickled the ears, Luna turned her head dumbly.

A man sitting on top of the bookshelf, leaning his chin on his hand with a round-eyed smile.

It was the soul of Tome Remiharam.

It was their second meeting since their first encounter five years ago at the Nodeli Ruins, and the atmosphere remained unchanged.

“You haven’t forgotten our promise, have you?”

“Huh? What promise?”

“You asked me to find Remiharam. You said if I found him, you would grant my wish.”

“Why are you in such a hurry? Can’t we exchange greetings before getting straight to the point?”

“…”

Luna stared at him with indifferent eyes as if to say, ‘What’s the problem?’

“You’re still the same, our Lady.”

Seemingly deflated by the unchanged demeanor, Remiharam shrugged his shoulders and lowered his head.

“How did you find me? It couldn’t have been easy.”

“You’re right. It wasn’t easy. Things don’t always go as planned in life.”

Luna explained the process confidently, crossing her arms.

“I gathered all the books and materials from Garam, Ushif, and Spania, as well as from all over the continent, to pinpoint the places where Remiharam might be. Most of them were places with less than a 1% chance of existence….”

“Really? How many places were there?”

“Altogether, there were 742.”

Remiharam, thinking he misheard for a moment, tilted his head.

“D-Did you visit all of those places?”

“I was planning to, but I guess I was lucky. I found Remiharam exactly at the 100th location. I guess luck was on my side.”

Remiharam, speechless, kept his mouth shut.

“It seems Remiharam wasn’t the only one there, right? I could feel the magic of light from that direction…”

“Oh right. Light and darkness always coexist. It’s where those who are still out there in the world like me gather.”

With his answer, Remiharam jumped off the bookshelf.

Then he approached Luna with brisk steps and asked, sticking his face out.

“Handling the Book of Divine is never an easy task. Ordinary human brains may not be able to comprehend the knowledge I possess.”

“Really? Then how do I look to Remiharam?”

Remiharam scratched his head without saying a word.

“Wow. What on earth have you been doing for the past five years?”

“…”

“Well, it’s actually more of an honor for me. I’ve lived a long life, but I’ve never seen anyone like you, Lady.”

Luna blinked nonchalantly as if she didn’t care.

“Well then, as the soul of Tome, I have one question for the one who will become Tome’s master.”

Remiharam changed his tone abruptly and asked with a serious look in his eyes.

“O seeker of truth! Do you have a future you want to change through me?”

“My future has already changed in the past.”

Luna answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“So, I just want to eliminate those who want to disrupt that changed future.”

Luna quietly looked at the opened pages of the Book of Tome.

An empty blank page.

However, as if to prove that it belonged to her, a sentence began to be written on the blank paper on its own.

Because of that, the future was reversed.

Furthermore, it was a future that must be preserved at all costs.

[With Cyan.]

“Even if that is what one might call divine….”

* * *

“I’ve been keeping an eye on you since our days at the academy. The granddaughter of the great sage Regens Rainriver, a genius magician girl who might appear only once every few hundred years…. Still, I never expected you to possess the same Divine Magic Scripture as me.”

Boris expressed his honest feelings with a strange smile.

“I felt the same way. Except for Senior Cyan, you were the only one I couldn’t confirm the mana from. While I was curious about Senior Cyan, I felt an inexplicable aversion towards you.”

Luna also revealed her true feelings, following his lead.

“It seems there’s a big misunderstanding about me. I seek the future of peace as illuminated by the scriptures and strive to fulfill it. I never want anything to disrupt the peace of this world.”

“Well, your sought-after future doesn’t seem so good to Senior Cyan or me, does it? I don’t particularly want that kind of future.”

-Giiing

Eventually, light emanated from the scripture Luna held.

“What are you going to do?”

“You’re a magician just like me in the end. I know very well what magicians like you dislike the most.”

Boris’s face momentarily contorted noticeably.

“It’s when carefully constructed hypotheses and plans are shattered in an instant, leaving no contingency plans behind. That’s when people like you collapse the most….”

-Jjeok

Soon, a rift began to form in a part of the space in response to the power of the scripture.

“From now on, I will completely obliterate this space you’ve created without a trace.”

Luna declared confidently, emitting a fierce determination akin to that of a venomous snake in her eyes.

“I don’t understand. What exactly will remain for you after all this?”

“I may have nothing left, but there will be something left for Senior.”

“……!?”

“That’s enough.”

Boris, suddenly at a loss for words, first made a bewildered expression, then laughed heartily, tilting his head back.

“Such tremendous obsession. They say there’s nothing as frightening as the obsession of a genius, and it seems to be true.”

While saying that, he also unfolded another page of the scripture, exerting its power.

“However, that obsession can sometimes be detrimental to oneself. Without experiencing failure, one falls into the misconception that anything is possible. I’ve seen many people like that so far.”

As he spoke, the rift in space began to mend with light, gradually returning to its original form.

“The future of the Bible cannot be changed. Even if it’s the power of the Tome….”

Two scriptures, each exerting its power to destroy a single space.

The two magicians were already determined to bring themselves down to crush each other, without a single hesitation or step back.

* * *

[Without knowing the grace I’ve given, what’s all this fuss about? Even if I grind these bones and mix them with blood and drink it…!]

Kaeram screamed in all directions, expressing all kinds of anger, as if she could devour any lost child on the street in an instant, sharpining her hands and eyes.

“Hey, long time no see?”

That was a casual remark thrown at her, but she didn’t react.

Look at that cheeky face.

It’s not that she didn’t hear, she’s blatantly pretending not to.

“On top of disappearing on your own, are you now planning to ignore your master’s words, Demonic Sword?”

[Oh my! Who’s this? Aren’t you the assassin who ran away instead of killing the princess, intoxicated with affection? Who are you going to show that shameful face to?]

I burst out laughing inadvertently at the provocative surprise attack.

So you’ve been watching me while pretending to sleep, huh?

Such cunning and audacious…

I barely managed to suppress the harsh words that were about to come out of my mouth.

[What on earth are you looking at me for?]

“What?”

[There’s a copycat who exudes an almost chilling aura similar to mine, fluttering around while I’m away? What were you even doing during that time!]

This Demonic Sword is really pushing it, huh?

Doesn’t she know who should be mad right now?

“Kaeram, I really can’t fathom what you’re thinking.”

The Leader, who had been observing the situation with a twisted face all along, approached us.

“I’ve told you before, haven’t I? While I have no intention of revealing Kaeram’s secrets, things would change if it harmed the successor!”

[Aren’t you going to shut up? Did you really go wild while I was asleep? You seem to be unable to control your boiling rage, should I relieve you?]

Two women who should never be put together were arguing again.

And all the stress that comes with it is on me.

A sudden headache hit me, and I instinctively pressed my forehead.

“Forget this meaningless fight and explain already.”

The attention of the two women turned back to me.

“Who is she?”

These two seem to know something about the woman named Mia Hafenkus that I don’t.

I’m sure they won’t deny it since they’ve already figured it out.

The Leader was the first to speak up.

“Hafenkus is a bloodline that followed the ancient Lord Aeru. The author of the book you showed me earlier, Dio Hafenkus, was the leader of that bloodline and the former owner of the Demonic Sword. It’s a fact directly heard from the Lord Aeru himself, so no one can deny it,”

He doesn’t lie, even if he doesn’t know everything.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“Back then, Kaeram was giving me such negative looks. I had no choice if I wanted to survive.”

The Leader gave Kaeram a rare, sly look.

“In addition, that girl was once considered a successor by us.”

Huh, what an interesting story this is.

“As the only one on this continent to inherit the blood of Hafenkus, we thought she would be able to handle the power of the Demonic Sword and the Black Mist better than anyone else. Well, it’s all messed up now because of you, but I never thought it would turn out like this.”

“Then what about that black one?”

I pointed to another Demonic Sword held by Mia with my eyes.

“It must be a replicated power. That’s why I asked if you’ve used the Demonic Sword in front of her. Perhaps it was created anew through magic based on the traces of the Demonic Sword you used.”

If that’s possible,

“Is it from the power of the scripture?”

“Nothing else explains it.”

It’s not surprising.

If the power of the Holy Sword is shared so generously, can’t it be called a replica?

In the end, that woman is a puppet and a copy made by them to eliminate me.

I turned my gaze naturally to Kaeram.

[What?]

Kaeram raised an eyebrow in question, but I didn’t turn away, staring at her intently.

It was a hint to explain on her own.

With an uncomfortable expression, she looked me in the eye and said,

[That’s right! That’s right! That bastard Dio is my former master!]

She wouldn’t have hidden in front of me without saying this one word.

[He is my former owner, and at the same time he is the one I ate! I am the one who took that insignificant soul and manipulated it as I wanted! Are you done now?]

Spitting out all the frustration she had kept inside, she finished speaking, waiting for my response with simmering anger.

So, that’s why she tried to hide it from me?

Hmm.

What should I say?

I said exactly what I had in mind, and Kaeram’s eyes flickered slightly.

“It’s not something to be proud of. It’s your true nature. Haven’t you tried to eat me several times?”

[……]

Kaeram couldn’t respond and just blinked her eyes.