Chapter 3: I Must Kill (2) 'Weakling.'
To my father, Zebestian, that was the ultimate insult.
He despised anything soft or yielding, valuing only that which was hard and unshakeable.
I had failed to live up to those expectations. I wasn't a "hard" person. I was the type to bend rather than break, and I had no desire to crush or dominate others with my own will.
That was who I was.
— Hungry. I must eat a fresh heart to replenish my mana. The younger and purer the child, the better. I need their life force. —
— You will soon be selected as a Knight of the Empire, so we will help you secure a steady supply of food. Lexi will come to you soon. Follow her instructions. —
These whispers were by no means human.
Was Edmond right? Was there truly a sub-species of demons mixed among us humans? Was it no longer the time to worry about who "I" was?
Where did these things come from, and how long had they been here?
I had to push those questions aside for a moment. There was a threat right in front of me.
Did I have to kill him with my own hands?
...It didn't seem strictly necessary.
Under Imperial law, the mere fact that an academy cadet left behind such subversive coded messages was grounds for execution—a cause for summary judgment.
Yes, I didn't need to be the one to do it.
Just then, the cadets filed in. Perched on the edge of a desk, I scanned them one by one. My gaze stopped on the boy with the buzz cut.
The Black Fragment inside my body had been reacting solely to him.
"Jacob, was it?"
"Ye-yes! I'm Jacob!"
The buzz-cut boy answered, startled. He was fifteen, the baby fat not yet gone from his face.
"Everyone except him, get out."
"...Pardon?"
"Get out."
The others left the room, looking bewildered. I even turned away the mana theory professor who tried to enter late.
Only Jacob and I remained in the classroom.
"Jacob."
"Yes?"
I picked up the novel. For a split second, his eyes wavered with anxiety.
"You know what I'm about to say, don't you?"
I flipped the book open and read the codes written on the pages aloud.
"Let's continue communicating this way. Tell the comrades the same. It seems I won't be able to return for five years."
"Uh..."
Jacob's eyes widened, and he quickly lowered his head. A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
Just how easy of a target did he think I was to bring something like this here? This place was practically the heart of the pure-blooded nobility.
"You're not an Imperial, are you?"
I couldn't claim that only the Izenheim were demons. To begin with, the Empire's method of categorizing races was extremely subjective and unscientific. The physical appearance of an Izenheim possessed only minor distinctions, making them barely different from any other race.
The most certain way to distinguish a human subspecies was to kill them and perform an autopsy.
Even then, it was impossible for an ordinary person. The meaningful differences between races stemmed from the structure of their mana circuits and the minute characteristics of their hearts.
In the process of absorbing and circulating mana through the body, each race exhibited unique mana reactions and circuit patterns.
This was the greatest evidence that humans had once been divided into elves, dwarves, beastmen, and the like—and it was the logic the Empire used to classify them as inferior races.
"An Imperial would have no reason to exchange coded messages like this."
The problem was these subversive codes. We lived in a world where someone could be tortured for years just for possessing a seditious book.
If one were to dig into Jacob's life and background, the fact that he wasn't a pure Imperial would be exposed in no time.
"The Intelligence Agency will likely investigate your entire background."
He tried to maintain his composure, but his face had already turned deathly pale.
I asked him, "Which side are you on? Are you Izenheim?"
There was no answer. Instead, the Black Fragment inside me confirmed his identity.
It was reacting to its 'own kind.'
"Speak. At this rate, you'll be detained and executed."
"..."
Jacob's mouth remained tightly shut.
Suddenly, a chilling doubt flashed through my mind.
Is this situation actually real?
Perhaps the Black Fragment inside me, the bizarre language of the Izenheim I just heard, and even the regression I experienced were all just illusions. Could it all be some kind of psychotic delusion?
I needed to find out. Whether this guy was truly one of 'them,' or if I was just imagining things.
"Do the Izenheim have a hobby of eating the hearts of young children?"
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Jacob's shoulders trembled. I sensed the change, but so far, it was still within the realm of a normal reaction.
"And who is this 'Lexi' who's supposed to come and offer you a heart?"
In that instant, Jacob snapped his head up. I knew for certain then.
This was reality.
Jacob lunged forward in a single stride and grabbed me by the collar. His pupils dilated grotesquely. A ripple, like tears of blood, flowed from them.
[How dare you steal our language? I will tear your heart to shreds and devour it.]
There was language within that cry, and I could interpret it perfectly.
Cr-cr-crack.
Jacob's mouth split wide open. While maintaining his human form, the corners of his mouth tore back toward his ears—
Tick.
The sound of a clock hand echoed from deep within my heart.
Time slowed down. The movement of the creature thrusting its maw toward me became infinitely sluggish.
I didn't know why. It just happened.
There was no time to think. I focused my consciousness. I slowly forced my body to move.
It felt awkward, as if I were submerged in water, but I kicked the creature hard in the solar plexus. Using that momentum, I spun my body and snatched the sword leaning against the desk.
I swung the blade upward toward the neck of the retreating monster.
Tick.
The second tick.
The slowed world snapped back to normal.
Slash!
The blade severed his neck. His head flew toward the ceiling. Blood erupted from the stump, drenching my body.
The boy who had been Jacob collapsed powerlessly.
The Izenheim died quite normally.
"Huff, huff..."
Squirm, squirm.
Just then, something wriggled near my collarbone. It was the Black Fragment.
Squirm, squirm.
It traveled down the veins of my arm to my palm, and then—
"!"
It pulled me forcefully toward Jacob's corpse.
Gulp, gulp, gulp! My palm greedily sucked up the blood flowing from Jacob.
"What are you... What the hell is this thing?"
Thud, roll.
Meanwhile, Jacob's head rolled across the floor. I stared into his eyes.
Stepping in the blood spreading across the floor, I thought:
Squirm, squirm.
The black virus living and moving inside my body. It was merely eating something, but this thing was my proof.
Proof that the action I just took was 'right.'
Bang!
The classroom door burst open.
"Aaaaahhh!"
Screams erupted. It was Jacob's friends. The sound of guards running toward us also drew near.
"Phew..."
I took a deep breath.
I had killed a fifteen-year-old Izenheim.
The charges—honestly, they wouldn't matter at all.
I am the only legitimate heir of Ebenholtz, the son of Zebestian von Ebenholtz, the Commander-in-Chief of the Empire.
I held one of the highest social ranks in the Empire, a pure bloodline of a family that had endured for half a millennium.
It meant I occupied a position where killing a single member of a minority race wouldn't pose the slightest problem.
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