Chapter 89
<Sub-Quest (3-1) ‘Thorough Until the End’>
[[Objective: Eliminate Randgar’s Subordinates.
Details: Eradicate the remnants of the Nameless Organization hiding within the academy.
Reward: 4 Stat Points.
Penalty: Temporary Leave from Crescent Academy.]]
…
‘They’re still here?’
That was my first thought after reading the quest details.
Now that I think about it, there was no way Randgar could have handled everything alone.
He must have had collaborators or subordinates.
I just hadn’t expected any of them to remain in the academy after Randgar’s capture.
“How do we find them?”
“Hmm. If the commander said so, then it’s certain some remnants are still here, right?”
Yuria Prisis asked for confirmation as if to verify her understanding.
Instead of answering, I nodded firmly.
If this were information I’d heard from someone else, I would have needed to verify it myself—but this was a quest.
It’s the very thing that gave me purpose here, so there was no way it could be lying.
“The most ideal method would be to enlist the cooperation of the academy’s staff and conduct a thorough search of the campus…”
Yuria trailed off, her face deep in thought.
“But the academy may be reluctant to launch an outright search. They’d probably cooperate if I brought it up, though.”
The most ideal solutions are often the hardest to implement.
That meant we needed to consider alternatives.
“Is Randgar still resisting?”
An alternative: extracting information through Randgar, the leader of his remaining subordinates.
Yuria shook her head in response to my question, letting out a small sigh.
“He’s being stubborn. To be honest, I didn’t expect him to confess while fully conscious, but even mental magic of various types doesn’t work on him.”
“Hmm.”
A brief silence filled the office, broken first by Yuria.
“Still, there’s no choice. I’ll speak with Professor Amilion. If the academy learns that Randgar’s subordinates are still here, they’ll act. But…”
“But?”
“I’m not sure a thorough search would actually find them. They’re incredibly skilled at covering their tracks.”
Yuria furrowed her brow, visibly troubled.
If Yuria, who had been tracking Randgar’s organization for years, said so, then it must truly be difficult.
Sometimes, Yuria’s information network outpaced even the Black Shadow Corps, so if she said it was a challenge, it wasn’t an exaggeration.
“Then why not draw them out?”
“Hmm?”
From a quiet corner of the office, Addy suddenly interjected.
As Yuria and I turned our attention to her, she shrugged and continued.
“It’s a simple method. If you can’t find someone hiding, lure them out.”
“… That makes sense. Addy, do you have a good idea for how to do that?”
In response to Yuria’s question, Addy’s gaze shifted to me.
Why is she looking at me?
“Me? What about me?”
“You have an excellent bait, Commander. Something weakened and desperate individuals would be tempted by.”
“Me? What bait?”
I wracked my brain, trying to figure out what she meant, but nothing came to mind immediately.
When I remained lost in thought, Addy raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely surprised as she explained further.
“Your undead horse. It looks quite strong—strong enough to serve as bait.”
“Ah.”
“Oh.”
As soon as Addy mentioned it, both Yuria and I nodded in understanding.
The look on Yuria’s face, complete with a finger snap and wide eyes, showed she had the same thought.
Now that I think about it, I did have Greenie.
“That could work.”
It was genuinely a good idea.
***
“What should we do, Nigel?”
“Ugh, just shut up for a moment.”
Nigel, frustrated, waved off the subordinate who had asked for his opinion.
The subordinate bowed quietly and left the room.
‘Damn it!’
It was an utterly infuriating situation.
Once alone, Nigel picked up the letter on his desk and read it again.
Even though he had practically memorized it by now, he couldn’t help but reread it.
At first, the letter seemed like salvation.
The superior he had served—Randgar, the Third Elder—had been defeated in battle.
Not only that, but he had been captured by the empire.
Nigel had assumed it was only a matter of time before he too was caught.
Until now, he had been able to hide under the protection of the academy’s vice-principal, but that was no longer the case.
But contrary to expectations, Nigel and the other members of the organization hadn’t been captured.
Randgar might have been defeated, but he wasn’t dead, meaning the barriers he had set up during his lifetime were still active.
Thanks to that, Nigel and his group could remain hidden within the academy without being detected.
But that was all they could do.
They weren’t being discovered, but without a leader, there was little they could accomplish.
And logically speaking, if the strongest of them, Randgar, had been defeated and captured, what could the remaining members possibly achieve?
In a situation where they were trapped within the academy, unable to do anything, it was as if they were imprisoned.
At such a time, the letter from the organization was a godsend, like rain in a drought.
Nigel read the letter with hope, believing they were coming to rescue them as loyal subordinates of the Third Elder.
“Damn it!”
Nigel threw the letter roughly, unable to contain his anger, and shouted.
The contents of the letter were completely different from what Nigel had hoped for.
It stated that despite the absence of the Third Elder, they were to carry out the original plan as scheduled.
Additionally, the organization would provide no support, and if the plan was not executed within a set timeframe, they would all be executed.
In short, it was a death sentence either way.
If they proceeded with the plan without the Third Elder, failure was inevitable.
If they did nothing, the organization would come to kill them themselves.
The organization had no intention of rescuing them.
“Whooo.”
Nigel tried to take a deep breath, controlling his trembling body to think clearly.
He didn’t want his life to end so futilely.
After everything he had gone through to survive until now.
As much as he felt rage and disgust, he had to think about the option that gave him the highest chance of survival.
‘If we do nothing, it’s 100% death.’
Nigel knew very well he could not escape execution by the organization.
The Nameless Assassin.
It was a name no member of the organization could be unaware of.
Anyone who betrayed the organization or leaked even a shred of information to outsiders would be killed without exception.
By the Nameless Assassin, whose true identity remained unknown except to the elders.
Thus, the only chance of survival, even if slim, was to carry out the original plan.
‘If only we still had the Undead Wyvern.’
The original plan they had devised with the Third Elder was to turn the academy into an undead fortress.
Although Crescent Academy was situated in the heart of the Empire’s capital, this worked to their advantage.
If the plan succeeded, it would be akin to infiltrating the enemy’s central command.
The combination of the Third Elder’s black magic barrier and the Founder’s power had made it seem plausible.
Even William the Archmage wouldn’t be able to break through the barrier surrounding the fortress.
Once that happened, the academy’s talented and blood-rich students could be used as sacrifices to continuously create more powerful undead.
Nigel had thought the plan was doomed from the moment Randgar Bayel was captured.
The person who was supposed to create the essential barrier was gone.
Although the Founder’s magic scroll for deploying the barrier remained.
‘I’m not confident this alone will be enough.’
Despite his doubts, the organization demanded they proceed with the plan.
It was an act more hopeless than smashing eggs against a boulder—a suicidal move.
At least with the Undead Wyvern, their success rate could have increased, even if only slightly.
But that was no longer an option, as most of their undead forces had been wiped out during the recent festival incident.
With the remaining undead, it was uncertain whether they could even handle the academy staff, let alone the Imperial Army.
‘Still, this isn’t a 100% death situation.’
Perhaps due to being pushed to the brink, Nigel’s usually rash and anger-clouded judgment was now sharp.
The path with even the slightest chance of survival was to proceed with the plan.
Although they didn’t have Randgar Bayel’s barrier, they still had the Founder’s scroll.
‘Who knows? Maybe the Third Elder’s capture has caused them to lower their guard, and this is our chance.’
Furthermore, the remaining undead were still formidable.
They weren’t the same as skeletons that could be frozen solid with a single wide-area ice spell.
Better to choose a 1% chance over certain death.
Nigel had made up his mind.
As he stood up, determined, a shadow flitted past the window illuminated by moonlight.
Startled, he instinctively thought it was an assassin, but thankfully, it wasn’t.
Nigel glanced out the window reflexively.
Perhaps because they were in a semi-basement, the moon seemed particularly high in the sky.
And blocking the moonlight, something was floating in the air.
‘Huh… huh?’
Nigel squinted and stared at the floating object.
It wasn’t a bird, as it clearly lacked wings.
Hovering silently in the air, it looked around as if surveying its surroundings.
And it was a horse.
A horse without flesh.
“Ah!”
Nigel gasped in shock, pressing himself close to the window as if he might leap through it.
A skeletal horse surrounded by green flames, stomping its feet midair.
There was no doubt.
It was the undead that had vanished during the Grand Battle.
The Green-Flamed Death Knight.
The skeletal horse that had mysteriously disappeared during the dungeon incident was now right there.
“Why… why is it here?!”
As if it heard Nigel’s exclamation, the horse began to move slowly.
Its movements were leisurely, as if taking a stroll.
‘I have to catch it!’
The thought struck Nigel like lightning.
He had to capture it.
—
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